Penn State women’s basketball coach responds to criticism, accusations from ex-players

Penn State women’s basketball coach Carolyn Kieger said Tuesday she was disappointed and saddened a few of her former players did not have a positive experience during their time in her programs, allegations the athletes levied in an article published Monday.

Kieger said she read the article published Monday by the independent and student-run website Onward State, which detailed allegations of misconduct from her former players. The coach was accused of making multiple players suicidal while bullying, body shaming, and more.

Kieger also said she was proud some of her former players came to her defense and spoke positively about their time in her programs.

“I tell our players every day that every opportunity, whether it’s good or disappointing, is an opportunity to learn and grow and elevate and get better, and this is what that opportunity presents myself,” Kieger said.

She did not directly answer a question that asked if she spoke with athletic director Pat Kraft since Monday morning. But when asked if she has evaluated her coaching style, Kieger said she looks for ways to do better at any opportunity.

“I always strive for my student-athletes to have a positive environment and to have a safe spot to grow and to learn,” Kieger said. “No. 1 goal for our program is to provide a space for our young women to become the best versions of themselves. And I’ll definitely evaluate ways that I can improve and make the student-athlete experience a positive one.”

Onward State’s article detailed allegations of misconduct from 10 of her former players at Penn State and Marquette, where she coached at her alma mater from 2014 to 2019 before coming to Happy Valley.

Most spoke to the outlet on the condition of anonymity due to fears of retaliation, but a handful opted to speak publicly.

Mississippi State forward Kayla Thomas, who played the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons for the Lady Lions, told Onward State several of her teammates went into therapy as a result of their experience with Kieger’s program.

Former Marquette star Allazia Blockton, the program’s all-time leading scorer and the 2017-18 Big East Player of the Year, said Kieger was “our biggest enemy, our biggest hater, and she tried her hardest to tear us down.”

“Every single day we walked into that Al McGuire Center, every single day, you just had a negative feeling. And a lot of people didn’t want to play basketball, and that messed up a lot of people’s mental and careers because of how she treated a lot of people,” Blockton said. “But a lot of people just pushed through it, and decided to just prevail, because they didn’t want her to control their stories. But in each and every way, she affected somebody’s career in a negative way at Marquette.”

Former Golden Eagle Danielle King said Kieger was dismissive of her depressive and suicidal thoughts during her senior year, adding that her coach “basically shamed me in saying my work ethic was the reason why I was depressed.”

Former Marquette center Amanda Maqueia said “80% of the way that she treated me was not because of basketball.”

“It was personal,” Maqueia told Onward State. “She really just did not like me. It got to a point that she just hated my guts. She could not look at me.”

Others who spoke anonymously levied accusations against Kieger that ranged from dismissive responses to mental health issues and body shaming to bullying and racial insensitivity.

A few former players and two former assistant coaches defended Kieger in the article.

Former Lady Lions guard Jaida Travascio-Green said Kieger supported her when she tore her ACL for the second time and was “incredibly understanding and supportive” when her father was terminally ill.

Gardner-Webb women’s basketball coach and former Marquette assistant coach Scott Merritt described Kieger as a “great person to the core.” He also told Onward State he was unsurprised that some former players would come forward publicly with allegations of misconduct.

“I’m not surprised because kids nowadays when it doesn’t go their way, they’re going to look for someone to blame,” Merritt said.

Sacramento State women’s basketball coach and former Penn State assistant Aaron Kallhoff said Kieger has a “high, high standard and is very competitive and very intense.” For some student-athletes, Kallhoff told Onward State, “that might be exactly what they need.”

Penn State Athletics backed Kieger in a statement, based in part on the direct feedback it receives from the results of annual surveys and exit interviews with players and staff.

Kieger and her staff provide a “positive and inclusive environment with a focus on their development on and off the basketball court,” the department wrote in a statement.

The university and athletic department also said they take seriously and thoroughly review any allegations of misconduct.

The Lady Lions have improved their win total each season under Kieger, going from 7-23 in her first season in 2019-20 to 22-13 last season. The 2023-24 season marking the program’s best single-season win total in a decade.

Kieger led the team to its first postseason tournament appearance since 2018, making a run to the Final Four of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament.

The team is 3-0 this season. Kieger and the Lady Lions are scheduled to return Thursday to the Bryce Jordan Center to play Niagara.