Kelsie Kruger begins her second year on the Utah State women's basketball staff after she was hired prior to the 2016-17 season.
In her role, Kruger serves as the defensive floor assistant, while overseeing post player development and assisting with recruiting.
Through the 2016-17 season, Utah State finished in the top half of the Mountain West standings in several defensive areas, as the Aggies ranked second in blocks (5.0 bpg), fourth in steals (7.8 spg) and fifth in rebounds (37.3 rpg). Under her coaching, forward Shannon Dufficy claimed the fifth-place spot on the single-season rebound list, tallying 261 on the year, while center Deja Mason continued to climb the all-time blocks record list, where she currently ranks fifth with 90. The Aggies finished the season with a 17-15 record, including a 9-9 Mountain West ledger.
A native of Marshall, Minn., Kruger joined the Aggies from South Dakota State, where she spent the 2015-16 season as the director of basketball operations.
Prior to her time in Brookings, Kruger spent two seasons as assistant coach at California State University, East Bay. There, she helped lead the Pioneers to the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament title game, posting a 20-11 record.
Before coaching at CSU East Bay, Kruger spent a season as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Adams State, and was a women's basketball and volleyball graduate assistant at Iowa Lakes Community College.
As a student-athlete at Adams State, Kruger helped lead the Grizzlies to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division II postseason tournament in 2009-10 and 2010-11. She was a member of Adams State's most successful squads, accumulating an overall record of 44-18 over her final two seasons. Kruger was an all-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference selection, averaging 11.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 51.3 percent from the field as a senior. She also spent five years as an instructor at the Adams State Basketball Academy before being promoted to Assistant Director of the camp in 2012.
Kruger earned her bachelor's degree in sports administration from Adams State in 2011. She completed her master's degree in educational leadership and policy studies at Iowa State in 2013.