Carlene Mitchell commences her tenth season on the sidelines for the Scarlet Knights and third as associate head coach.
Under the tutelage of Hall of Famer C .Vivian Stringer, Mitchell has helped direct the Scarlet Knights to an NCAA berth in eight-straight seasons and a spot in the NCAA Regional Semifinals in five of the last six campaigns.
Mitchell, who has served as the program's recruiting coordinator since 2004, has consistently landed the top talent in the nation.
The 2009 recruiting class - rising sophomores Monique Oliver and Erica Wheeler – were ranked No. 9 by ESPN’s Hoopgurlz and No. 13 by All Star Girls Report (ASGR).
The DeWitt, Ark. native made an instant impact for the Scarlet Knights, helping to put together a 2001-02 recruiting class rated 13th in the nation by All-Star Girl’s Report She continued the success in 2004, boasting the No. 3 rated class.
That stellar group 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 five-member class ranked the best incoming quintet by Women's Basketball Magazine.
In addition to her recruiting efforts, Mitchell has helped to teach and mentor several former and current WNBA players, including Chelsea Newton, Cappie Pondexter, Matee Ajavon, Essence Carson and Epiphanny Prince.
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 both preseason and off-season conditioning, 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 started her coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1997. 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. She helped lead Trinity to the first of their five unprecedented NJCAA National Championships in 1994. Named All-Conference and selected to the NJCAA All-Tournament Team, Mitchell still holds the single season assist record (337) and assists in a game (17) mark in the Lady Cardinals record book. She will join the school’s Cardinal Hall of Fame in October, a member of the Class of 2010.
A member of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), Mitchell has been an invited guest to the Nike Villa 7 Coaches Consortium on three occasions. The consortium was developed to bring together university athletic directors and the country's elite assistant basketball coaches in an effort to prepare coaches for the next level.
