Katie Abrahamson-Henderson

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Katie Abrahamson-Henderson
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamUCF
ConferenceThe American
Record69–30 (.697)
Biographical details
Born (1966-12-23) December 23, 1966 (age 55)
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Playing career
1986–1988Georgia
1988–1990Iowa
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1990–1992Duquesne (asst.)
1992–1994Maine (asst.)
1994–2000Iowa State (asst.)
2000–2002Michigan State (assoc. HC)
2002–2007Missouri State
2007–2008Washington (asst.)
2008–2010Indiana (assoc. HC)
2010–2016Albany
2016–presentUCF
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
4× America East regular season (2013–2016)
5× America East Tournament (2012–2016)

Kay Noel "Katie" Abrahamson-Henderson[1] (born December 23, 1966)[2] is the current head coach of the University of Central Florida.[3] Prior to this position, she was the head coach of the Albany University women's basketball team.[4]

She was previously the head basketball coach of the Missouri State University women's basketball team. In 2005, she guided the Lady Bears to a WNIT title.[5]

Early years[]

Abrahamson-Henderson attended Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, graduating in 1985. She was a basketball player, averaging 44 points per game,[6] and that earned her a place in the Washington Warriors Hall of Fame, where she was inducted in 1992.[7] She was named an All-American to both the Parade and USA Today All-American teams, and ranked as one of the top five basketball players in the nation as a senior.[1][8] She was also on the swim team, and considered attending college as a swimmer, but instead chose to focus on basketball. While in high school, she competed in the Iowa State Championships and placed first in the 50 yard freestyle, the 100 yard free-style and the freestyle relay.[6][9]

College[]

Many schools recruited Abrahamson-Henderson but she eventually chose to attended the University of Georgia, to play for Andy Landers, now a Women's Basketball Hall of Fame coach.[8] In her freshman year, 1986, she helped the team win the Southeastern Conference title.[10] She played one more year at Georgia, but then chose to transfer back to her home state and play at Iowa for Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer. She played for the Hawkeyes for two years, advancing to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen as a senior.[11] Abrahamson-Henderson completed her studies at Iowa, receiving a B.S. in physical education and sports administration in 1990. After graduating from Iowa, she attended Duquesne University, where she earned an M.S. in education in 1992.[10] She spent one year playing professional basketball in New Zealand.[12]

Coaching career[]

While playing basketball in high school and college, Abrahamson-Henderson had no interest in pursuing a coaching career, expecting instead to become a fitness trainer or run a fitness club. However, while she was at graduate school at Duquesne University, one of the assistant coaches at Iowa became the head coach at Duquesne and talked her into being a graduate assistant coach for the team.[12]

She then went to the University of Maine to be an assistant coach for two years under Joanne McCallie.[4] After Maine, she spent six years as an assistant coach at Iowa State under Bill Fennelly, working alongside Brenda Frese who would go on to become the head coach at Maryland.[13] When McCallie took over the head coaching position at Michigan State, she persuaded Abrahamson-Henderson to join her as an associate head coach.[14]

Abrahamson-Henderson took her first head coaching position at Missouri State (then Southwest Missouri State). She helped lead the team to two regular-season championships in the Missouri Valley Conference as well as three postseason conference championships. The team made three appearances in the NCAA tournament and won the WNIT in 2005.[15] Following the 2007 season she unexpectedly resigned, and went on to accept an assistant coaches position at the University of Washington.[15][16] After a single year at Washington, Indiana's head coach Felisha Legette-Jack hired her as the associate head coach.[17]

In 2010, the University of Albany persuaded Abrahamson-Henderson to become the head coach where she remained for six years.[10] The Albany team had a losing record in each of the five prior years, but Abrahamson-Henderson improve the team 16–14 in her first year.[18] In her second year, the team improved to finish second in the America East conference and earn a trip to the NCAA tournament. The team finished first or tied for first in the conference each of the successive four years and won the conference tournament championship every year. The team earned an invitation to the NCAA in each year and in 2016, facing fifth-seeded Florida, upset them 61–59.[19]

In 2016, the University of Central Florida persuaded Abrahamson-Henderson to become the new head coach.[20]

Head coaching record[]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Missouri State Lady Bears (Missouri Valley Conference) (2002–2007)
2002–03 Missouri State 18–13 11–7 4th NCAA First Round
2003–04 Missouri State 28–4 16–2 1st NCAA First Round
2004–05 Missouri State 25–8 15–3 1st WNIT Champion
2005–06 Missouri State 17–15 7–11 T–6th NCAA First Round
2006–07 Missouri State 7–21 3–15 10th
Missouri State: 95–61 (.609) 52–38 (.578)
Albany Great Danes (America East Conference) (2010–2016)
2010–11 Albany 16–14 9–7 5th
2011–12 Albany 23–10 14–2 2nd NCAA First Round
2012–13 Albany 27–4 17–0 1st NCAA First Round
2013–14 Albany 28–5 15–1 1st NCAA First Round
2014–15 Albany 24–9 14–2 T–1st NCAA First Round
2015–16 Albany 27–4 15–1 T–1st NCAA Second Round
Albany: 144–46 (.758) 84–13 (.866)
UCF Knights (American Athletic Conference) (2016–present)
2016–17 UCF 21–12 9–7 4th WNIT Second Round
2017–18 UCF 22–11 12–4 3rd WNIT Second Round
2018–19 UCF 26–7 13–3 2nd NCAA First Round
2019–20 UCF 20–10 11–5 2nd No postseason due to coronavirus concerns
UCF: 89–40 (.690) 45–19 (.703)
Total: 328–147 (.691)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References[]

  1. ^ a b "All About Abe". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  2. ^ "Women's Basketball". NCAA. Retrieved 16 Aug 2015.
  3. ^ "All About Abe - UCF Knights - Official Athletics Site". www.ucfknights.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-03. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  4. ^ a b "Katie Abrahamson-Henderson Bio". Retrieved 2016-09-22.
  5. ^ "2005". Women's NIT. Retrieved 2016-09-22.
  6. ^ a b "A conversation with ... Katie Abrahamson-Henderson". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  7. ^ "Hall of Fame - Athletics | Washington High School". crwash.cr.k12.ia.us. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  8. ^ a b "UAlbany women's basketball coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson on coaching, empowering women - Albany Business Review". Albany Business Review. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  9. ^ "Longtime Friends Facing Off at Duke". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  10. ^ a b c "Katie Abrahamson-Henderson Named University at Albany's Head Women's Basketball Coach". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  11. ^ Byrd, Jennifer. "They call her 'Coach Abe'". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  12. ^ a b "UCF hires new women's basketball head coach". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  13. ^ "New UAlbany coach embraces 'great opportunity'". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  14. ^ Times-News. "Women's coaches hold bond for first-round NCAA clash at Duke". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  15. ^ a b "Abrahamson-Henderson Named Assistant Women's Hoops Coach :: UW head coach Tia Jackson solidifies her coaching staff with former Missouri State head coach". www.cstv.com. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  16. ^ Bubalo, Stephen. "Coach unexpectedly resigns". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  17. ^ "Abrahamson-Henderson Joins IU Women's Basketball Staff". Indiana University. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  18. ^ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  19. ^ "Albany vs. Florida - Game Recap - March 18, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  20. ^ Sentinel, Orlando. "UCF names Katie Abrahamson-Henderson its new women's basketball coach". Retrieved 2016-09-23.

External links[]

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