Hoffman To Be Wright State’s New Head Coach

by Abigail Hintz

Cedarville is losing a great.

Head women’s basketball coach Kari Hoffman has coached her last season for the Jackets and will now take her expertise to Division I Wright State University as head coach of their women’s basketball program.

This past season was Hoffman’s fifth as the Lady Jackets’ head coach, during which she built an incredibly successful program despite it being her first experience as a head coach. With an overall record of 106-38 and three G-MAC regular-season championships under her belt, she rightfully earned G-MAC coach of the year in 2018 and 2021.

Perhaps it was her love for the university that allowed for such success.

(Flunker) Hoffman is considered one of the best players Cedarville has ever seen. In her playing career (2001-2005), she broke records left and right and still holds many of them. She is currently the second all-time leading scorer with 2,275 points, the leader in games played with 142, 3-pointers made with 338 and 3-point shooting percentage of .458 percent. Hoffman was also an assistant coach in the program for six consecutive seasons before taking over as head coach.

“Cedarville has been a part of my life for 17 years as a student and a coach,” Hoffman said. “The people here and this program have simply changed my life. I’ve grown up here and learned who I am and who I want to be. I’m convinced there is not another program in the country like Cedarville women’s basketball.”

The program owes a lot to Hoffman. Under her leadership, the team has reached new heights, seen most evidently this past season as the team was ranked as high as No. 9 in the WBCA Division II Poll as well as advancing to the G-MAC semi-finals and being granted a berth to the Atlantic Regional in the NCAA Division II Championship.

I’m convinced there is not another program in the country like Cedarville women’s basketball and that’s mostly because of the incredible young women we got to coach every day,” Hoffman said. “They are our family and they always will be. I’ll truly miss them every day and leaving them is the hardest part of this new journey. God has been so good in giving me the blessing of Cedarville and it will always be a huge part of my life.”

Hoffman will be the eighth head coach in Wright State women’s basketball history. She takes the position from Katrina Merriweather who left the program in late March after coaching five seasons.

Cedarville athletic director Alan Geist wishes Hoffman the best and says the nationwide search for a new head coach will begin immediately.

“We appreciate all Kari has done for Cedarville University,” Geist said. “While the team’s success on the court speaks for itself, she has worked with a special group of young ladies and consistently pointed them toward Christ.”

Abigail Hintz is a junior Journalism major and the Sports and Digital Editor for Cedars. She loves reading, playing Spikeball with her friends and watching soccer 24/7.