Kaleena Coleman '06

  • Title
    Head Women's Basketball Coach
  • Email
    KaleenaColeman@Clayton.edu
  • Phone
    (678) 466-4675
  • Year
    11th
  • Alma Mater
    Clayton State (2006)
Named the seventh head coach in program history on March 9, 2015, Coleman has been a fixture in Laker women's basketball for the past 12 years, as both a player and a coach, and has been a part of the most successful period in the program's history.

Taking over for the legendary Dennis Cox in late July of 2014, she inherited a roster with only eight returning players. She led that team to a 17-12 overall record, nearly knocked off some of the nation's best programs and earned the No. 3 seed out of the Peach Belt Conference's highly competitive West Division.

Coleman accomplished that while battling through a number of injuries to key players all season long, sometimes to the point she had only eight available on gameday, and developing a rapport with a largely new roster, as well as her coaching staff, in an extremely short amount of time. Her vast experience within the program helped her to overcome that adversity and achieve great things.

After two years at Darton College, she was a two-year member of the Clayton State women's basketball team from 2003-05, playing in 56 games, and was part of the 2004-05 team that went a program record 25-7. That squad also earned the Lakers their first ever NCAA Division II Tournament berth, the first Peach Belt Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships and delivered the second biggest turnaround in DII, improving from just 10-18 the year before.

Following her playing career, Coleman joined the staff of head coach Dennis Cox in 2005-06, becoming a full-time member in the 2007-08 season. She served in that role through the 2013-14 campaign before being named the interim head coach on July 29, 2014.

During her 12 years in Morrow, Georgia, she has helped guide the Lakers to 10 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (2004-14), four South Atlantic/Southeast Region titles with matching trips to the Elite 8 (2007, 2009, 2011, 2013) and the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship. That stretch has also included 17 NCAA Tournament victories, seven PBC regular season titles (2005, 2007, 2008, 2011-14) and three tournament championships (2005, 2007, 2010).

"We are proud to have Kaleena become the seventh head coach in the history of Laker women's basketball," said Director of Athletics Tim Duncan at the time of her fulltime appointment. "Under her leadership, we fully expect to be back at the top of the Peach Belt Conference standings and in the national spotlight in the near future."

A graduate of Clayton State University, Coleman holds a Bachelors in Education earned in 2006.
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