INDIANAPOLIS – Kate Bruce has her work cut out for her, but she says she’s up for the challenge.
Bruce was unveiled Thursday as the newest IUPUI women’s basketball coach. Bruce comes to IUPUI from Walsh University where he led the Division II program for six seasons. She is the program’s all-time winning head coach with a 134-43 record and four NCAA tournament spots.
Prior to working at Walsh, she was an assistant at Florida Gulf Coast, Youngstown State and Ohio University. She followed Bob Boldon to Youngstown State and Ohio. She went to Youngstown State shortly after the show suffered a 0-30 season. Three years later, the team won 23 games
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When Boldon and Bruce went to Ohio, the Bobcats suffered five consecutive losing seasons. Two years later, the team won 27 games.
Bruce remained positive regardless of the initial struggles.
“In our first year, we were bad. You have to get over it,” Boldon said. “She would be disappointed after a loss, but you arrive the next day ready to work.”
Bruce, who grew up in Colorado, is the all-time leading scorer on the Florida Gulf Coast. She was an All-American and helped program to the Division II national championship game in 2007.
Karl Smesko, who is entering his 24th season as FGCU head coach, says Bruce’s work ethic stood out more than his sheer talent.
“She was just smarter and willing to outdo everyone,” he said. “She ran the floor as hard as anyone we’ve ever had in every possession. She would see things develop and be able to leverage them to get easy baskets. Her understanding of the game combined with her work ethic is what made her an exceptional basketball player. It’s something that translates well to becoming a coach.”
After spending a season playing abroad, Bruce (Kate Schrader before her marriage in 2014) returned to FGCU as a graduate assistant, then assistant coach. Smesko doesn’t foresee Bruce having trouble jumping to Division I level.
“She’s very solid with her basketball philosophy,” he said. “It makes players play hard and play within a framework. Bringing in players that fit her style of play could take a year or more, but I think she will be in a position to win championships and lead IUPUI to more NCAA tournaments in the near future.”
One of the most urgent needs from day one will be recruitment. The IUPUI won the Horizon League tournament last season for the second time in the show’s history, advancing to its first NCAA tournament behind a group of veterans that included four-time Horizon League Player of the Year Macee Williams. Several players from last year’s Jaguars team followed former Jaguars coach Austin Parkinson to Butler, including the team’s second-highest scorer Rachel McLimore and sophomore Anna Mortag. Tyra Ford, who was a freshman at IUPUI last season and served at Anderson High School, joined the transfer portal in March. IndyStar Miss Basketball finalist Jessica Carrothers, who originally committed to the IUPUI, changed her commitment to Butler.
In 12 seasons under Parkinson, the IUPUI was 224-141. Rachel Kent (10.5 ppg) and Destiny Perkins (6.5 ppg, 3.3 apg) will return.
Bruce said she’s going to do the recruiting this weekend.
“Indiana has great basketball,” she said. “No matter where I was in the Midwest, we were recruiting Indiana. But now more than ever, let’s try to keep these kids at home.”
Bruce will have a chance to get his fingerprints on the show right away, and she will have some choices to make. Does she scour the transfer portal for immediate impact players, or does she focus on recruiting high school talent? It will be a mixture of the two.
“We are very excited about the return of the returnees, but we realized that we missed out on some key pieces from last year,” she said. “I think some of the returning players will take on different roles this year, but we are, as a team, looking to bring in some experienced players who can help with that transition.”
Bruce has experience in getting high-level recruits. While at Walsh, she got an appointment from Sha Carter, a Division II All-American who transferred to the FGCU after her junior season.
“Making decisions about which kids to take and which kids not to take, both decisions are equally important,” Boldon said. “Finding out which kids to take is important, but figuring out which kids not to take is also important. She has done it well.”
Bruce said the team’s offense will be “high-energy” and “efficient,” and she hopes defensive pressure and turnovers will lead to easy opportunities on the other side. Walsh ranked second nationally among Division II teams in field goal percentage last season and 10th in 3-point field goal percentage.
“We played a fun style,” she said. “I’m a high-energy coach. I’m so excited for the players. When they leave the IUPUI, they will be the best players and people after four years.”
Follow IndyStar sports reporter Matthew VanTryon on Twitter @MVanTryon and send story ideas to matthew.vantryon@indystar.com.