St. Francis graduate Kelsay earns Big Ten head coaching job
A whirlwind with a happy ending …
Her dream job
On Monday, Dec. 16, Michigan State University parted ways with head women’s volleyball coach Leah Johnson.
On Dec. 17, Kristen Kelsay (St. Francis High School) got a call from Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller.
“There was immediate interest for me in the position,” Kelsay said.
The feeling was mutual.
On Sunday, Dec. 22, Kelsay was announced as the new head coach for the Michigan State Spartans, with whom she played from 2010-13. Her 3,040 assists rank seventh in program history, her 473 sets played rank fourth.
“I am fired up, honestly. It was an unexpected phone call with the timing,” Kelsay said.
“If there’s anything I’ve learned in this coaching world, you don’t control the timing of the phone call from your dream job.”
Yes, she’ll have to make a decision on what to do with the house she bought this summer near Minneapolis, where Kelsay was the University of Minnesota’s associate head coach the last two seasons.
This season she helped the Gophers and coach Keegan Cook attain a 21-10 record and a 10th straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Retired Addison Trail teacher and head boys track coach Bruce Kelsay noted that his daughter joins Erin Virtue, of the University of Michigan, as collegiate head coaches who played for the legendary former St. Francis girls volleyball coach Peg Kopec.
As well, Kristen’s sister, McKenna Kelsay, is head girls volleyball coach and an assistant track coach at Batavia High School. Bruce and Mary Kelsay have another daughter, Nikki, who coaches girls lacrosse at Glenbrook South.
“We’re all coaching now, which is pretty special,” Kristen Kelsay said. Her mother coached as well, and Bruce Kelsay played football at Minnesota and Illinois State.
Kristen Kelsay, who also assisted at Northwestern from 2019-21 and at Michigan State for four seasons from 2015-18, already is “making phone calls, finding our people,” she said.
A three-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar at Michigan State, her philosophy centers around relationships, values and growth.
“Those are the things I’m looking to instill in this first chapter of this new era,” she said. They were things that also impressed her as a player there.
“We were really successful and there was a lot of support for our program, and being part of the Spartans family really was unlike anything else,” Kelsay said.
Kelsay is more than excited with her first head coaching job.
“How cool is it for me that my first head coaching position is one that I would love to be my last?” she said.
At the top of his game
College of DuPage football coach Matt Rahn (Wheaton North) was named 2024 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III Football Coach of the Year.
On Dec. 7 the Chaparrals (11-1) beat Louisburg 31-14 to earn their fourth consecutive NJCAA Division III title. Rahn’s national award is his third in four years.
College of DuPage led NJCAA Division III in 20 statistical categories, including No. 1 in points per game (50.9), yards per game (469.3) and both passing (39) and rushing (34) touchdowns.
Its first-team All-Americans included offensive lineman Greg Fotinopolous (Wheaton North) and Armend Ujkashi (Maine West), punter Aaron Rice (Neuqua Valley), and quarterback Justin Bland (Glenbard North).
A redshirt freshman, Bland led NJCAA Division III with 3,114 yards passing and 37 touchdown passes while taking only 1 sack.
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