West Chester University of Pennsylvania Women's Basketball

Kiera Wooden enters her 12th season in the first chair on the Golden Rams' bench. The former Golden Rams standout won the most games by any WCU women's head coach over their first five years running the program and landed her charges in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament all five times while adding an NCAA Tournament appearance three times. She could not have set the bar any higher for herself, after leading West Chester to a combined 45-14 record in her first two campaigns. The WCU alumnae has picked up a PSAC East regular season title (2016), a spot in the PSAC Championship Game (2015) and three trips to the NCAA Tournament (2015, 2016, 2018) in her first six seasons at the helm before making back-to-back trips once again in 2023 and 2024.  Wooden' brings an overall record of  175-119(.595) into the 2025-26 campaign and an 136-83 (.621) mark against conference competition. Additionally, Wooden shows a 8-9 record in the PSAC Tournament and a 2-5 record in her four trips to the NCAA Atlantic Regional. Wooden has been instrumental in the success of the Golden Rams’ program over the past decade and a half, helping West Chester to reach the postseason 14 times, including the NCAA Division II Tournament in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2023, and 2024. She was hired as the first full-time assistant coach in the history of the women’s basketball program prior to the 2004-05 campaign. Last season, Wooden helped lead an impressive reload as the Golden Rams dealt with the departure of a large senior class, including the leading scorer in program history in Leah Johnson, Through this, West Chester went 15-15 overall and 11-10 in league play, returning to the PSAC Tournament and winning its PSAC Tournament First Round matchup at Millersville in dominating fashion before falling to eventual Champion Kutztown by a 63-50 final in the PSAC Quarterfinals. Wooden mentored a pair of All-League players in Michelle Kozicki and Anna McTamney, as both players earned First Team All-League honors. Kozicki had a season for the ages, earning WBCA Honorable Mention All-American honors after averaging 20.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, with 18 double-doubles on the year. Kozicki finished the year second in team history in points in a single season with 623, trailing only Mitzi Reitnouer, who scored 698 points in 1981-82. Kozicki also became one of three players in team history to score 35 points or more twice in a single season, joining Johnson and Reitnouer on this exclusive list.  In 2023-24, Wooden helped engineer another historic season for West Chester women's basketball, guiding the Golden Rams to a record of 24-7 overall and 18-4 in league action. This record led to West Chester returning to the PSAC Semifinals and NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row, while also ending the season tied with the 2023 and 2015 teams for the most wins in a single season under Wooden. West Chester fell in the PSAC Semifinals to eventual Tournament and Regional Champion, Gannon at Lock Haven before giving second-seeded Fairmont State all it could handle in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Fairmont, W.V. a few days later. West Chester went unbeaten at home in 2023-24 and set a new program record for the longest home winning streak in program history with a 46-39 victory over Kutztown on February 14. West Chester enters 2024-25 with a 24-game home winning streak, which is third longest in Division II women's basketball. On the court, Wooden mentored PSAC East Player of the Year Leah Johnson, as she became the first Golden Ram to earn Player of the Year honors since Dana Weems in 2008 after rewriting the WCU record books in scoring, assists, and triple doubles in 2023-24. Johnson was one of four All-Conference honorees for the second year in a row as Emily McAteer repeated as a first team selection, while Michelle Kozicki and Anna McTamney were second team honorees.  In 2022-23, Wooden engineered one of the most impressive year-to-year turnarounds in program history, leading West Chester to a share of its first PSAC East Regular Season title since 2017-18, a PSAC Tournament Semifinal appearance, its first NCAA Tournament win in 20 years, and its first Regional Championship appearance in program history. Ending the year with a record of 24-9, which is tied for the most wins Wooden has recorded in a single season since her first year in 2014-15 when the team went 24-6, the Golden Rams returned to the NCAA Tournament as a three seed, the team’s highest seeding since the field expanded to 64 teams in 2003. Wooden, who was named PSAC East Coach of the Year for the second time in her career, mentored four All-Conference honorees, including first-team selections Leah Johnson and Emily McAteer, along with second-team honorees Anna McTamney and PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year Michelle Kozicki. With her Defensive Player of the Year honors, Kozicki became the first Golden Ram to receive this award since Alexandra Lennon in the 2012-13 season. Johnson, who joined the 1,000-point club during the season and finished the year with the third most points in single-season history (542), also earned DIICCA Second Team All-Region honors, becoming the first Golden Ram to earn this award since Brittany Sicinski in 2015-16. As a team, West Chester boasted one of the top offensive units in the PSAC, averaging 72.8 points per game, thanks to a 44.2 % field goal percentage and a program DII record 77.2 % free-throw shooting percentage. In 2018-19, Wooden engineered an impressive turnaround in the second half of the season that saw the Golden Rams go 11-3 in PSAC East play to earn the No. 3 seed in the PSAC Tournament, thus, extending the Golden Rams PSAC Tournament appearance streak to 12 years in a row. West Chester won its first postseason game that year with an impressive win over Millersville to punch its ticket to the PSAC Quarterfinals for the second year in a row. The Golden Rams season came to a close in the quarterfinals as West Chester fell to Bloomsburg on the road to end the season with an overall record of 16-14 and a mark of 11-9 in PSAC play. Wooden also mentored a trio of PSAC East All-Conference selections in Destiny Jefferson and Madison Torresin, who earned first team honors for the first time in their careers while Gabrielle Troisi earned second team honors. Upon succeeding her mentor, former head coach Deirdre Kane in July 2014, Wooden quickly began applying her personal stamp to the Golden Rams women's basketball program. When she accepted the reins of the program, she became the first African-American women's basketball head coach at West Chester University and only the 19th African-American female head coach in all of Division II. During the 2014-15 season, the Golden Rams finished second in the PSAC Eastern Division and upset nationally ranked Indiana (Pa.) in the semifinals of the conference tournament that put the Golden Rams in the PSAC title game for just the second time in school history. She guided the Golden Rams to a 24-6 mark that first year on the job, falling one win shy of the school's single-season wins record. She followed up that effort with a 21-8 showing in 2015-16 and a 17-5 slate in conference play and another NCAA Tournament bid. Wooden has helped to recruit some of the top talent in the state to the Delaware Valley, doing her part to guide the Golden Rams to three 20-win seasons while suffering through just one losing season during her 10-year stint as an assistant coach.   The Wilmington, Del., native played all four years at WCU under Deirdre Kane, earning PSAC Eastern Division first team honors on three different occasions. During her first season in 1999-2000, Wooden, who played under her maiden name, Kiera Manlove, was named the PSAC East Rookie of the Year.   Wooden was named the team’s MVP on three different occasions and claimed outstanding scholar-athlete honors twice. She currently ranks fifth all-time in scoring with 1,378 points and stands 11th in scoring average at 12.2 points per game. Wooden holds the school record for field goals made (569), ranks fourth in field goal attempts (1,300), sixth in free throws made (240) and fourth in free throws attempted (408). Wooden also ranks second all-time in WCU history in rebounds (871) and third in steals (259) while her 7.7 rebounds per game average stands fifth. She was inducted into the WCU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014 Wooden was a four-time PSAC scholar-athlete, an eight-time member of the WCU Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll, a two-time PSAC Winter Top 10 selection and a 2002 Arthur Ashe Award winner. She served two years as team captain and was a regular on the Dean’s List. Wooden, a 2003 graduate of West Chester University with a degree in Exercise Science/Kiniesiology and three minors (Nutrition, Health, Coaching) went on to earn her master’s degree in Sports and Athletic Administration at West Chester University in 2006. She currently resides in Wilmington, Del., with her husband, Charles, son, Christopher, and twins Carter and Christina.   YEAR SCHOOL OVERALL PCT CONFERENCE PCT NOTES 2014-15 West Chester 24-6 .800 18-4 (2nd) .818 PSAC Championship Game ; NCAA Tournament 2015-16 West Chester 21-8 .724 17-5 (1st) .773 PSAC Semifinals ; NCAA Tournament 2016-17 West Chester 10-17 .370 10-12 (T, 3rd) .455 PSAC 1st Round 2017-18 West Chester 23-6 .793 19-3 (1st) .864 PSAC Semifinals ; NCAA Tournament 2018-19 West Chester 16-14 .533 11-9 (3rd) .550 PSAC Quarterfinals 2019-20 West Chester 9-13 .333 7-15 (7th) .318 2020-21 West Chester season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic 2021-22 West Chester 9-19 .321 7-17 (6th) .333 PSAC 1st Round 2022-23     West Chester     24-9     .727 18-4 (T, 1st) .818 PSAC Semifinals, NCAA Tournament 2023-24 West Chester   24-7 .774 18-4 (1st) .818 PSAC Semifinals, NCAA Tournament 2024-25 West Chester 15-15        .500 11-10 (5th) .524     PSAC Quarterfinals 10 years 175-119 .603 136-83 .621 3-time PSAC East Coach of Year

West Chester University alum, Allison Hostetter was named West Chester University women's basketball assistant coach in August 2015, becoming the full-time assistant for head coach Kiera Wooden. Hostetter, a 2012 graduate of West Chester University, stepped into Wooden's previous position that she held for the past decade under legendary former head coach Deirdre Kane. She returned to West Chester following two seasons as an assistant coach at Holy Family University. Last winter, "Hoss" helped the Golden Rams capture the PSAC Eastern Division title and reach the NCAA Tournament. West Chester finished 21-8 overall during the campaign. Hoss joined a West Chester squad that finished the 2014-15 slate with an overall record of 19-9, including a 13-3 record in conference play. That season, the Golden Rams were selected as the No. 1 seed in the PSAC Eastern Division preseason coaches' poll. In addition to helping run the Golden Ram offense and tutor the latest group of Golden Ram guards, Hostetter also plays a major role in the Golden Rams recruiting efforts. Most recently, “Hoss” helped the Golden Rams capture a share of their first PSAC Eastern Division Title since the 2018 season, reach the NCAA Tournament as a three-seed (the team’s highest seed in the Tournament since it expanded to 64 teams in 2003) before helping the Golden Rams capture their first NCAA Tournament victory in 20 years and eventually advance to the Regional Final for the first time in program history. Under her guidance, the West Chester offense put forth its most prolific season in the team’s DII history, scoring over 2,400 points (2,402), averaging 72.8 points per game, which is ninth most in the team’s DII history.  West Chester shot a blistering 44.2 % from the field in this historic season, which ranks second best in the team’s single-season DII history, while also turning in the best free-throw shooting effort (77.2 %) in team DII history. Hoss has played an integral role in the development of 2022-23 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Honorable Mention All-American guard Leah Johnson, who also broke the single-game scoring record in the NCAA Tournament with a 44-point performance against California (Pa.) in the Round of 64. Johnson is one of multiple All-American guards whom Hoss has worked with at WCU as she along with Wooden also helped mentor another WBCA All-American in Dallas Ely.  In recent seasons, Hoss has helped Wooden engineer an impressive turnaround for the Purple and Gold, helping guide West Chester to a 24-win season this past winter, which is tied for the second most wins in a single-campaign and just one win shy of the 25-win season in 1991-92, which remains the school record. Hoss has helped West Chester enjoy three winning seasons in the last five years along with a pair of 20+-win seasons in both 2017-18 (23) and 2022-23 (24). Hostetter began her coaching career as an assistant at Holy Family. In her first season, she helped the Tigers to a 28-3 overall record and a run to the NCAA Division II East Region semifinals. The opportunity was a learning experience for Hostetter as she gained valuable insight on how to approach the game, while also adding an additional perspective on how to game plan. Furthermore, she gained exposure to a new system other than the one she played in during her years with Deirdre Kane. During her coaching career, Hostetter has mentored two All-Americans in Holy Family's Erica Mann and West Chester's Dallas Ely. Both of West Chester's all-time leading scorers learned under Hostetter as well (Brittany Sicinski and Dallas Ely). During her four-year playing career (2008-12) for the Golden Rams, Hostetter appeared in 113 games and totaled 1,199 career points, grabbed 729 rebounds, dished out 360 assists and created 235 steals. Hostetter's contributions played a significant role in West Chester's NCAA tournament berth in 2012. For her performance on the court, she was recognized as a two-time All-PSAC selection, including first team all-league her senior year and second-team honors her junior season for the Golden Rams. Hostetter became the 16th player in WCU history to eclipse 1,000 career points, while also finishing in the Top 10 in four different categories in the record book. She claimed fourth place on the school's all-time assist chart with 360, is fifth in steals (235), seventh in boards (729) and ninth overall in scoring (1,199). To this day, Hostetter remains the only guard in West Chester women's basketball history to lead the team in rebounding in a single season with 254 in 2010-11. Hostetter graduated from West Chester University with a bachelor's degree in Professional Liberal Studies in 2012. The slogan #GR4L, which stands for Golden Ram for Life, epitomizes the family atmosphere which this program provides and is something in which Hoss greatly believes. Coming back to the Golden Rams' family is something that she cherishes, especially because the University is close to her hometown of Oxford, Pa. The goal is to provide student-athletes with the same experience she had at West Chester, while continuing the great program success that coaches Deirdre Kane and Kiera Wooden have built.

Fromhartz enters her fourth season as an assistant coach for the Golden Rams. In the past three seasons she has helped West Chester achieve a 58-27 combined record. Additionally, she has helped the squad win a PSAC East title (2016), a spot in the PSAC Championship Game (2015) and a pair of trips to the NCAA Tournament (2015, 2016). She is a 1991 graduate of Division 1 Marist College (Poughkeepsie, NY) and spent three years as head JV coach and assistant varsity coach at Bishop Shanahan High School. As the head JV coach at Shanahan, she compiled a 53-11 record and helped develop numerous All-Ches-Mont league performers. While at Marist, she was a four-year letterwinner, receiving the prestigious Iron Man Award for playing in every game of her college career. She earned all-tournament recognition at the Seton Hall Holiday Tournament and was named captain during her senior year. Upon graduation, she held records for most games played and 3-point shooting percentage in a year. During her high school career at Northampton (PA) High School, she was a multi-sport athlete. On the hardwood, she graduated as the all-time leading girl’s scorer and led the team in steals, assists and points. She was named to the Allentown Morning Call’s All-Decade team for the 1980’s. As a shortstop on the softball team, she led her team to back-to-back District XI championships while leading the Konkrete Kids in stolen bases, HRs and batting average. Fromhartz lives in Downingtown, Pa. with her husband, Jim, and their five children.