Carlene Mitchell enters her ninth season on the sidelines for the Scarlet Knights and second as the associate head coach. Under the tutelage of C .Vivian Stringer, Mitchell has helped direct the Scarlet Knights to NCAA berths in seven straight seasons. Over the past five campaigns, Rutgers has amassed a record of 130-41 (.760) and reached five-consecutive NCAA Tournament regional semifinals.
Mitchell has served as the program's recruiting coordinator since 2004, the DeWitt, Ark., native has consistently landed some of the top talent in the nation.
The 2009 recruiting class ranks No. 9 by ESPN’s Hoopgurlz and No. 13 by All Star Girls Report (ASGR). The three-member squad, who begin play this fall, features two McDonald’s All-Americans, including the nation’s No. 6 prospect, Monique Oliver. Mitchell made an immediate impact in Piscataway, helping to put together a 2001-02 recruiting class rated 13th in the nation by ASGR. She continued the success in 2004, boasting a third-ranked four-member group.
The 2004 stellar class was followed by a trio of players, ranked 13th as a group, which included the nation's No. 2 post prospect, Kia Vaughn. The 2006-07 group- the current seniors- were ranked the best incoming class by Women's Basketball Magazine. In addition to her recruiting efforts, Mitchell has helped to mentor and teach several current WNBA players, including Chelsea Newton, Cappie Pondexter, Matee Ajavon and Essence Carson.
Prior to Rutgers, Mitchell spent the 2000-01 season as the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Oklahoma State University. She was responsible for preseason and off-season conditioning programs, coaching the guards during practices, developing a defensive game plan for each of Oklahoma State’s opponents and working with the program’s summer camps.
Prior to her stop in Stillwater, Mitchell coached for two seasons at Western Illinois University. While in Macomb, Ill., she helped the Westerwinds make a remarkable turnaround from a 7-19 record to an 18-11 mark the following season. Mitchell assisted in the signing of 14 student-athletes to national letters of intent. Three of those student-athletes were later named to the Mid-Continent Conference All-First Team during their respective careers.
Mitchell began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Missouri-Kansas City during the 1997-98 season. Her responsibilities with the Kangaroos included implementing strength and conditioning programs, creating opponent scouting reports and organizing all team travel.
Mitchell was the starting point guard as a senior at Kansas State University during the 1995-96 season. She received a bachelor’s degree in social science from the school in 1996. Mitchell also attended Allen County (Kan.) and Trinity Valley (Texas) Community Colleges, serving as the starting point guard for Cardinals as they won the 1994 NJCAA National Championship.
