It was back in April that Lexi Carlsen announced that she was transferring from Northern Illinois to play for the Drake women’s basketball team.
Turns out, she’s not coming by herself.
Carlsen’s mom, Lisa Carlsen, a longtime head coach at Northern Illinois, was named a new assistant coach for the Bulldogs on June 30.
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“Our program is ecstatic to welcome Lisa Carlsen to our Drake University coaching staff,” Drake coach Allison Pohlman said in a statement announcing the hire. “Her extensive experience as both a player and coach, along with her commitment to developing student-athletes, makes her an exceptional addition to our team.
“Lisa brings a unique perspective and a passion for the game that will undoubtedly help elevate our program. We’re all excited for the positive impact she will have on our student-athletes both on and off the court.”
Carlsen joins the Drake staff after a long head coaching career that included stops at Omaha, Lewis and most recently Northern Illinois. She spent the last 10 seasons with NIU and led the Huskies to a 147-155 record. She also guided the program to a national postseason tournament for the first time in six years with a bid to the Women’s Basketball Invitational.
Lexi Carlsen played a pivotal role for her mom at Northern Illinois as a 5-foot-8 freshman guard who averaged 8.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 30 games, including 24 starts, last season. She was also named to the Mid-American Conference All-Freshman Team.
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She’ll now team back up with her mom at Drake. Lisa Carlsen is a native of Earling, Iowa and graduated from Northwest Missouri State in 1992. She was a four-time all-conference basketball player in college.
“I could not be more excited to be at Drake University,” Carlsen said in the statement. “The opportunity to join Allison and her staff to continue to build on the rich tradition of Drake Women’s Basketball is an honor and a privilege. The chance to be at a place that values and supports women’s basketball the way Drake does is truly a blessing. The warm welcome from everyone in the department, the fans, donors and season ticket holders as well as the entire Drake community has been outstanding, and I can’t wait to meet each and every avid Bulldog supporter.”
Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Lisa Carlsen named Drake women’s basketball assistant coach
