TicketsCINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati women's basketball head coach Katrina Merriweather has elevated Abby Owings and Michal Miller to assistant coaches ahead of the 2023-24 season.
The restructure stems for the NCAA Division I Council decision in January to increase staffing limits to five countable on-court assistant coaches in men's and women's basketball. Under the new rule, which went into effect on July 1, the NCAA maintained the limit of three assistant coaches for off-campus recruiting which means that the additional coach(es) may not contact or evaluate prospective student-athletes off-campus.
"I am excited about the impact of the NCAA's decision to allow young women to have two additional staff members play a critical role in their development and experience," Merriweather said. "Abby and Michal will utilize their successful playing and coaching careers to create and maintain our focus on holistic student-athlete development.
"This move is incredibly beneficial to our program and July 1st has proven to be a monumental day for women's basketball."
Hired as director of basketball operations in May, Owings returns to a coaching role at Cincinnati after serving as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Eastern Kentucky for the past two seasons. She assisted Eastern Kentucky to a 33-30 record, including a 22-8 home mark, and orchestrated recruiting efforts in the program's transition to the ASUN conference.
The Independence, Ky. native also spent time in coaching roles at Bellarmine, Shawnee State and Morehead State after a career where she was a two-time WBCA All-American, leading Thomas More University to two NCAA DIII National Championships and three DIII final four appearances.
Miller adds on-court coaching responsibilities to her role as director of player personnel after she was announced a part of the staff in April following three seasons on Merriweather's staff at Memphis and Wright State. She mostly recently spent the last two seasons as video coordinator at Memphis, where she helped lead the Tigers to a 22-11 record last season, the program's first 20-win season since 2011-12.
Miller closed out her career playing for Merriweather at Wright State, where she helped lead the Raiders to a 2019 Horizon League Tournament title and was also named to the 2020 Horizon League Second Team. Before joining the Raiders, Miller led Trinity Valley Community College to the NJCAA National Championship appearance after starting her career at Arizona.
2023-24 Women's Basketball Staff
Katrina Merriweather – Head Coach (First Season)
Ashley Barlow – Assistant Coach / Offensive Coordinator (First Season)
Abby Jump – Assistant Coach / Recruiting Coordinator (First Season)
Kabrina Merriweather – Assistant Coach / Director of Culture Development (First Season)
Abby Owings – Director of Basketball Operations / Assistant Coach (First Season)
Michal Miller – Director of Player Personnel / Assistant Coach (First Season)
Ryan Pall – Assistant Director of Basketball Operations (First Season)
The restructure stems for the NCAA Division I Council decision in January to increase staffing limits to five countable on-court assistant coaches in men's and women's basketball. Under the new rule, which went into effect on July 1, the NCAA maintained the limit of three assistant coaches for off-campus recruiting which means that the additional coach(es) may not contact or evaluate prospective student-athletes off-campus.
"I am excited about the impact of the NCAA's decision to allow young women to have two additional staff members play a critical role in their development and experience," Merriweather said. "Abby and Michal will utilize their successful playing and coaching careers to create and maintain our focus on holistic student-athlete development.
"This move is incredibly beneficial to our program and July 1st has proven to be a monumental day for women's basketball."
Hired as director of basketball operations in May, Owings returns to a coaching role at Cincinnati after serving as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Eastern Kentucky for the past two seasons. She assisted Eastern Kentucky to a 33-30 record, including a 22-8 home mark, and orchestrated recruiting efforts in the program's transition to the ASUN conference.
The Independence, Ky. native also spent time in coaching roles at Bellarmine, Shawnee State and Morehead State after a career where she was a two-time WBCA All-American, leading Thomas More University to two NCAA DIII National Championships and three DIII final four appearances.
Miller adds on-court coaching responsibilities to her role as director of player personnel after she was announced a part of the staff in April following three seasons on Merriweather's staff at Memphis and Wright State. She mostly recently spent the last two seasons as video coordinator at Memphis, where she helped lead the Tigers to a 22-11 record last season, the program's first 20-win season since 2011-12.
Miller closed out her career playing for Merriweather at Wright State, where she helped lead the Raiders to a 2019 Horizon League Tournament title and was also named to the 2020 Horizon League Second Team. Before joining the Raiders, Miller led Trinity Valley Community College to the NJCAA National Championship appearance after starting her career at Arizona.
2023-24 Women's Basketball Staff
Katrina Merriweather – Head Coach (First Season)
Ashley Barlow – Assistant Coach / Offensive Coordinator (First Season)
Abby Jump – Assistant Coach / Recruiting Coordinator (First Season)
Kabrina Merriweather – Assistant Coach / Director of Culture Development (First Season)
Abby Owings – Director of Basketball Operations / Assistant Coach (First Season)
Michal Miller – Director of Player Personnel / Assistant Coach (First Season)
Ryan Pall – Assistant Director of Basketball Operations (First Season)