Offseason workouts are officially underway for Katrina Merriweather’s Bearcats ahead of the inaugural Big 12 season after a 9-21 season in 2022-2023, athletic director John Cunningham announced former Bearcat head coach Michelle Clark Heard would not return for her 6th year. A short time later, the Bearcats knew they had their next coach despite leading the Memphis Tigers through the WNIT, they knew the opportunity to bring one of their own backs to Clifton was a no brainer. “This is an exciting day for Bearcats fans,” said Cincinnati Athletic Director John Cunningham. “We are bringing home one of our own to lead our woman’s basketball program during such a pivotal time heading into the Big 12 come July 1st.”
Merriweather comes from Memphis where she spent the last two seasons where she led the Tigers to a 38-23 record while earning three All-AAC honors in the process after leading the Tigers to their best season in over a decade. Merriweather spent five years at Wright State University where she led the Raiders to two NCAA Tournament appearances, as well as being named Horizon League Coach of the Year three times. “Sometimes a search for a leader becomes very clear, when you know, you know. Coach Merriweather was meant to be the head coach at the University of Cincinnati,” Athletic Director John Cunningham said.
It is not very common at the college or professional level that coaches get the opportunity to return to their alma mater, but for Katrina Merriweather, it was a no brainer. “It’s an amazing feeling to be back home,” Merriweather said. “I don’t know if you can really capture the emotion and words from the people who are cheering for you, happy for you, being supportive of you. It really is a dream come true.”
Despite preparing the Bearcats ahead of the 2023 season, Merriweather is looking help prepare the USA Americup team after being named an assistant coach back in April. Merriweather is currently serving as an assistant coach alongside Washington State head coach Kamie Ethridge and South Dakota State head coach Aaron Johnson. The Americup team features some of the country’s biggest basketball stars, as Angel Reese (LSU), Lauren Betts (UCLA), Raven Johnson (South Carolina), Rayah Marshall (USC) and more look to capture the gold in this summer’s classic, which is slated to tip off July 1st-9th in Mexico. “It’s been a lot of fun coaching the AmeriCup team,” said Merriweather. “I am really looking forward to getting in the gym with those women some more, but most importantly just being surrounded by great coaches and the way USA basketball runs the show, is unbelievable.”
New Look Bearcats
The Bearcats built a roster that features seven new faces from a season ago after seeing key players Caitlyn Wilson (Georgia Tech), Jada and Jadyn Scott (Miami) transfer this spring due to the coaching change. However, amongst those returning are graduate point guard Mya Jackson, junior Braylyn Milton, sophomore A’riel Jackson. Jillian Hayes is also slated to return for her senior season after leading the Bearcats in points (321), rebounds (190) and blocks (36) a season ago. Hayes, a Cincinnati native has seen this program reach new heights over the years after growing up in the Tri-State area.
