NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene University athletic director Rich Sanders has announced that head women's basketball coach Kelli Lindley is taking a 10-month leave of absence from her coaching duties.
While on leave, the Crusaders will be coached by Ryan McCarthy, who has served as Lindley's top assistant for the past three seasons.
“When I started coaching at NNU, I was single and had no kids,” Lindley reflected. “Since then I have been blessed with a wonderful family. After ten years, I think it is time to take a short break from coaching and spend a little more time with my husband and kids and get re-charged to do the job I love at NNU.”
Lindley, 35, holds a 165-113 (.593) career coaching record and has made post-season appearances in six of her 10 years at the helm. The Crusaders have earned four NCAA Division II National Tournament bids ('03, '06, '08, '09) and two NAIA National Tournament appearances ('01, '02) while under Lindley's guidance.
“We have a great group of players returning next season, and have signed one of our best recruiting classes ever,” Lindley commented. “The quality of young ladies on this team made it easier for me to make this very difficult decision. I am certain Ryan will thoroughly enjoy leading this group of talented, committed players.”
“Kelli has been a very successful coach and role model the past ten years at NNU. We stress balance in our student-athletes lives and it sometimes gets overlooked in our coaches' lives,” Sanders commented. “This leave of absence will give Kelli a chance to focus on her young family and return energized next spring. We look forward to her return and are confident in Ryan's ability to successfully lead the program over this time period.”
Since McCarthy's arrival on the NNU bench in 2007, the Crusaders overall record is 56-27 (.674), including two NCAA tournament appearances. Last season the Crusaders were 19-8 overall and finished fourth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings.
“Ryan has been an outstanding assistant coach these last three years, and has played a huge role in the team's success,” Lindley added. “He is incredibly loyal and hard-working, and I have no doubt he will do a fantastic job filling in for me while I am gone.”
Prior to joining coach Lindley's staff, Ryan played professionally for the Central Oregon Hotshots of the International Basketball League and then in Europe, playing for the Tus Bramsche Kangaroos in Bramsche, Germany, where he led the league in three-pointers and was in the top-five in league scoring.
While at Tus Bramsche, McCarthy coached the amateur team affiliated with the sports club, which consisted of players' ages 20 to 26 to the Bezirksliga Championship.
McCarthy, 27, was a four-year starter for the Crusader men's program and is currently the third-ranked player in three-point field goals at NNU, making 260 triples over the course of his career, including a second-best all-time 102 three's during the 2005-06 season.
Elpidia Allen will join Carey Cook and Jesse Metz on McCarthy's staff next season
