Purdue Women's Basketball Welcomes Katie Gearlds as Associate, Future Head Coach
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Katie Gearlds was nervous driving an hour and a half to Purdue from Indianapolis, but once she saw Mackey Arena, she knew she was at home again.
The Purdue women's basketball team officially welcomed Gearlds back to the program Tuesday after it was announced on March 26 that she would be the team's next associate head coach. She will replace Sharon Versyp as the head coach of the Boilermakers at the end of the upcoming season.
Gearlds played for Purdue for four years between 2003 and 2007. Under Versyp, she led the Boilermakers to an Elite Eight appearance in her final year of college before being selected in the first round of the WNBA Draft by the Seattle Storm. Gearlds played professionally for three seasons.
She spent the past eight years as the head coach of Marion University women's basketball, achieving exceptional success. The Knights won back-to-back NAIA national championships in 2016 and 2017. Gearlds is the winningest coach in Marion history with a career record of 228-50 and was a three-time NAIA National Coach of the Year.
"I've been trying to get Katie back here for a while," Versyp said. "And she's done such a great job and was able to be her own person, be that head coach for some time. So, obviously, when another opening came up on the staff, it just made great sense to bring someone in like Katie, and she was ready."
Versyp sat down with Gearlds four years ago, asking if she wanted to come back to Purdue. For Versyp, it was always on the radar for Gearlds to return to her alma mater.
But Gearlds wasn't yet prepared.
"I just didn't think I was quite ready as a coach to take that next step," Gearlds said. "I felt like I needed to grow, and I wanted to learn how to be a head coach and how to run a program."
Despite having one of the most prestigious careers in Purdue women's basketball history, there was a learning curve before she could just as easily stand on the sidelines and coach a Division I basketball program.
Gearlds finished her career in fourth on the Boilermakers' all-time scoring list with 1,974 points. During her senior campaign, she set a Purdue single-game record by scoring 41 points against Wisconsin on Feb. 18, 2007.
She attributed her development as a player that season to the tutelage of Versyp.
"You've watched me play, I wasn't quick, I wasn't athletic, I didn't jump out of the gym," Gearlds said. "But I could think the game, and that has helped translate into the coaching world for me."
As Versyp enters the 16th year of her coaching tenure, Gearlds will have an opportunity to absorb all of the knowledge and experience her mentor has accumulated during that time. However, Gearlds won't be left short of responsibilities.
"Katie is going to have a lot of responsibility," Versyp said. "It'll be just like having another head coach on the staff."
For now, the focus shifts toward the recruiting trail, and Gearlds will look to use her experience as a former Boilermaker to build the program for the future. She said it's about getting players that believe in her, believe in the system, and believe in Purdue and what it stands for.
The coaching staff will be talking to high school athletes and their parents while building lasting relationships like the one between Gearlds and Versyp.
"I've been so fortunate that I've had kids play for me that are going to just run through a brick wall, and that's part of recruiting," Gearlds said.
As for Versyp, it's still unknown if this is the end of the road for her as a coach. All that is known is that she is nearing the end of her career at Purdue. Versyp has a career record of 294-176 with the team and has led the Boilermakers to four Big Ten Championship titles.
Purdue finished 18-14 last season and 8-10 in the Big Ten.
"I've lived my dream here, which has been nothing but amazing," Versyp said. "I have other dreams, so we'll see what happens. But I'm excited for Purdue women's basketball, excited for myself, excited for everyone that's sitting at this table."
D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.