Episode 227: Chris Kielsmeier, Head Women's Coach, Cleveland State University

On this episode of the Rising Coaches Podcast, we’re joined by Chris Kielsmeier, the current head coach of the Cleveland State women’s basketball program. Coach Kielsmeier’s path into the profession started as a student intern at Iowa State before earning his first assistant coaching role at Howard Payne. After one season as an assistant, he was promoted to head coach at Howard Payne, where he built the foundation of his coaching philosophy. He then made the jump to the Division II level at Wayne State College, continuing his growth as a head coach before taking over at Cleveland State. In this episode we discuss what he felt prepared for—and what he didn’t—when moving from DIII to DII, the first priorities he focuses on when taking over a new program, and a common mistake he sees young coaches make that he wishes they would avoid.