Wisconsin Lutheran College Women's Basketball

Seven-time NACC Coach of the Year Klay Knueppel is in his 22nd season as head coach of the Wisconsin Lutheran College women's basketball program. Knueppel, who is 19th among winningest active coaches in Division III with a .743 winning percentage, spent 12 seasons as an assistant with the Warriors before being named the program's third head coach in 2004. The Warriors, who finished 21-8 overall and 15-1 in NACC play last season en route to their 13th conference championship, advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in program history. WLC also clinched its 13th 20-plus win season in program history. Knueppel also recorded his 400th career win on November 22 in a 73-65 victory over No. 17 Transylvania, Wisconsin Lutheran achieved its highest top 25 rankings ever during the 2021-2022 season, climbing as high as eighth and 14th in the nation's primary polls. The Warriors were third in the NCAA in scoring defense (46.7), fourth in turnovers per game (11.8), ninth in field goal percentage defense (31.2), and 10th in win-loss percentage (92.0).  WLC posted a program-record 27 wins in 2018-2019 and made its 10th NCAA Tournament appearance, winning its third tournament game in program history after defeating No. 17 Illinois Wesleyan, 48-40, in the first round. Wisconsin Lutheran, which was ranked 24th in the final D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, allowed a NCAA Division III-low 45.9 points per game.  The 2014-2015 Warriors upset 10th-ranked Wheaton (Ill.) 70-67 in overtime in the first round for their second NCAA Tournament win in program history. Knueppel mentored Kristen Schulz to D3hoops.com First Team All-American honors, the college's first-ever First Team All-American. WLC reeled off a school-record 23 straight victories in 2013-2014 and in 2012-2013, became the first team in conference history to finish with a perfect conference record (17-0). Knueppel coached Wisconsin Lutheran to its second-best season in school history in 2010-2011 as it won a school-record 26 games, including the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament win, a 73-59 victory over UW-La Crosse. Over the last 15 seasons, Knueppel has guided the Warriors to a 239-30 conference record. He has mentored a total of two All-Americans, 10 All-Region performers, and six NACC Players of the Year. WLC has enjoyed a successful run with Knueppel on the bench, including his time as an assistant. In 2003, Wisconsin Lutheran finished 18-7 overall and posted an 11-1 record in the Lake Michigan Conference en route to the program's first outright regular-season title. The Warriors swept through the conference tournament, defeating Lakeland, 59-41, in the championship game before losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to UW-Eau Claire, the top-ranked team in the country. From 1998 to 2003, WLC advanced to the title game of the LMC Tournament five times (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003) and earned the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament twice (2000, 2003). While he still exhibits the same hard work and intensity he did as an assistant coach for 12 years under Wayne Smith (who started the program in 1983), Knueppel employs some of the same coaching techniques as his father, Paul Knueppel, the college's retired vice president of student affairs and former men's basketball head coach and athletic director. Knueppel studied psychology while a student at Wisconsin Lutheran. He was the first of three Knueppel brothers to play basketball for the Warriors. During his three seasons (1989-1992), Knueppel established himself as the most prolific free throw shooter (.917) in school history. As a senior, he led the NAIA in free throw percentage with a school-record mark of .950. More importantly, Knueppel helped the 1992 Warriors to their first 20-win season with a 21-9 overall record. He still ranks 12th in career scoring (1,188 points) and assists (205). He and his brothers Kon, Kole, and Klint, known as "The Flying Knueppel Brothers," were named to the Gus Macker Hall of Fame in Belding, Michigan after they won the top men's flight in a national 3-on-3 basketball tournament held in Hilton Head, South Carolina in the summer of 2003. Knueppel lives in Milwaukee with his wife, Lisa. They have four children; Kaila, Caitlin, Jakob, and Joshua.

Julie Langebartels is in her eighth season as head coach of the Wisconsin Lutheran College women's golf program. Langebartels also serves as scheduling coordinator for the department and as an assistant coach on the women's basketball staff. The Warriors posted a 388.6 team scoring average last year, good for fourth in program history. WLC placed fifth out of nine teams at the NACC Championship. A three-time WIAA Girls Golf State Tournament qualifier at Racine Park, Langebartels and the Panthers posted fourth, third, and second-place finishes at state in her three seasons on the varsity squad. Langebartels earned First Team All-Racine County honors as a senior after recording a nine-hole scoring average of 44. Langebartels was a standout women's basketball player for Wisconsin Lutheran from 2001-2003. She was named the 2003 Lake Michigan Conference Player of the Year, averaging 15.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. She also received All-LMC honors in 2001-2002 and still holds the NCAA Division III record for free throws attempted in a game, 29, on November 23, 2002. Over her two seasons at WLC, Langebartels led the Warriors to a 35-20 overall record, including a 21-3 mark in LMC play. She also was named an Academic All-American during the 2002-2003 season. Langebartels was also a member of the women's soccer team where she was named All-LMC both years. Prior to her playing days with the Warriors, Langebartels played two seasons of basketball at NCAA Division I Wright State University. She graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran in 2004 with a bachelor of arts degree in education. Langebartels and her husband, John, reside in Brookfield with their four children; Benjamin, Elizabeth, Hannah, and Jacob.

Mikayla Dogs is in her fourth season as an assistant coach for the Wisconsin Lutheran College women's basketball team.  Prior to joining WLC's coaching staff, Dogs was the head junior varsity girls' basketball coach at Kewaskum High School, where the Indians went 18-4. She also assisted on the varsity staff where the team finished 23-4 and ended the season ranked fourth in the state. Along with her high school coaching, she has three years of experience coaching for both the Wisconsin Xtreme AAU and the seventh grade girls' team at Kewaskum Middle School. Dogs graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from Milwaukee School of Engineering in 2021, where she played for four seasons on the Raiders' women's basketball team. Dogs played in 76 career games and scored a career-high 24 points twice. She holds the program record for three-pointers made in a game (7), and ranks top 10 all-time in three-point percentage in a game. A four-year starter at Kewaskum High School, Dogs led the Indians to their first winning record and regional victory in 20 years. She was a two-time team captain, earning Honorable Mention all-conference as a junior and First Team all-conference as a senior. She also holds the school record for three-pointers made in a game (8). In addition, Dogs played varsity soccer and volleyball for two seasons. Dogs is a mechanical design engineer for a manufacturing company in New Berlin. She lives in West Allis.

Brook Smith is in his fourth season as an assistant coach for the Wisconsin Lutheran College softball team. Smith, who is in his eighth season as an assistant coach for women's basketball, served as WLC's head baseball coach from 2000-2008 and head coach of the women's soccer program from 1998-2004. Smith, who has been coaching basketball at various levels since 2010, most recently was the girls' head freshman and varsity assistant coach at Divine Savior Holy Angels High School from 2015-2018. Prior to that, he was the girls' varsity assistant coach at Slinger High School from 2012-2015. A three-sport star in football, basketball, and baseball at Northwestern College in Watertown, Smith transferred to Bradley University (Peoria, Illinois) in 1991 and played baseball for two seasons for the Braves. Drafted in the 11th round of the 1993 Major League Baseball draft by the San Francisco Giants, Smith pitched for three seasons in the Giants' minor league system before spending two seasons playing for Sonoma County, a member of the Western Baseball League. During his college career, Smith was a two-time all-conference selection, an all-conference selection in baseball (Bradley University), and an all-conference wide receiver in football (Northwestern College). While at the helm of WLC baseball, Smith was responsible for guiding the Warriors to their first two winning seasons (2001-2002) in program history. In each of those seasons, the Warriors were just one win shy of reaching the NCAA Tournament. He coached a total of 30 players to various all-conference teams, including 12 first team selections. He also mentored the program's first-ever NCAA Division III batting champion and D3baseball.com Honorable Mention All-American, Chris Glasel. As head coach of the women's soccer program, Smith was named Lake Michigan Conference Co-Coach of the Year twice – in 1999 and 2001. During his seven seasons, Smith coached 18 players who earned First Team all-conference honors. Smith earned his bachelor's degree in history and broad field social studies from Wisconsin Lutheran in 1998. He is an academic advisor in Wisconsin Lutheran College's College of Adult & Graduate Studies. Smith and his wife, Amy, live in Germantown.