If there’s one thing to know about new Oakland coach Keisha Newell, it’s that she’s always well prepared.
That much was evident from the lamination on the page of planned remarks that she brought to her introductory press conference on Friday morning in the OU Credit Union O’rena, and from the way she effortlessly circulated around the edges of The Blacktop, seemingly knowing each attendee’s name before they knew hers. She even wrote down the 2024-25 Horizon League standings in advance, which later helped her answer a question.
It’s only natural that her propensity for research would extend to her decision to accept the OU job.
Long before making her way to the stage to formally begin her tenure, the now-former Lewis University coach spoke to, and subsequently thanked, a bevy of Oakland athletic department personnel. That list included legendary men’s basketball coach Greg Kampe, who jumped on a call to offer his always-candid thoughts on the position and the school.
She even reached out to Golden Grizzlies program alumni, including one anonymous former player she cited as particularly passionate about the revival of the program.
“The most amazing part is just the people,” Newell said. “I think that’s why Oakland was an easy decision.”
Newell, who played and coached at then-Horizon League member Loyola Chicago between 2007 and 2014, is not done speaking with people either. She called connecting with the local community “one of our biggest priorities,” emphasizing a desire to inspire the next generation of basketball players, as well as engage any interested alumni.
“The program belongs to more than just the players and the coaches,” she said. “It belongs to the fans, to the families, and to the city.”
The task handed to Newell – along with the village she hopes to cultivate – will be to inject life back into an Oakland program that, following a long and successful history in NCAA Division II, joined Division I in 1997. The Grizzlies were a stalwart in the Summit League for most of the 2000s, including NCAA Tournament appearances in 2002 and 2006, alongside a trio of conference regular season titles. However, things rapidly veered off course just as OU joined the Horizon League in 2013.
That spring, Beckie Francis, the coach responsible for the grizzly’s share of Oakland’s success in the aughts, was dismissed amidst a slew of mistreatment allegations. The atmosphere within the team during the late stages of Francis’ tenure, and around the school following her dismissal, scorched the program to its core. However, OU men’s associate head coach Jeff Tungate quickly stepped in to offer some desperately-needed stability and a compass guiding the way forward.
Despite some early promise, Tungate’s dozen years in charge, before his abrupt retirement this past December, produced a seemingly-endless chain of teams that lost about as many games as they won. Those squads were also affected by the health issues that eventually caused Tungate to step down, including three separate seasons where former assistants Ke’Sha Blanton and Deanna Richard had to guide the program for most of the year. Richard then served as interim head coach for most of 2024-25.
“Throughout the process, the easiest question I was asked was ‘can you win at Oakland in women’s basketball?’” OU’s athletic director, Steve Waterfield, recalled. “I said ‘absolutely, we already have.’ I pointed out the great run of success in the Division II era, as well as the success they had in the early portion of the Division I era. It can be done, and it will be done.”
If Newell is to turn Oakland’s clock back, it’s probably fair to say that the Golden Grizzlies will be very good offensively. During her three years at Lewis, Newell’s Flyers were consistently among the national leaders in several point-scoring statistics en route to NCAA Division II Tournament appearances concluding each of her seasons in charge. Of course, Lewis also led the Great Lakes Valley Conference in defensive efficiency during the 2023-24 campaign.
“On the court, our identity will be clear: hard-nosed defense, relentless rebounding, and an up-tempo offense that pushes pace,” Newell said.
“She’s the best coach to put the program back on [a winning] trajectory,” Waterfield added.
If nothing else, Oakland’s ninth full-time head coach sees a clear opportunity in a Horizon League where the difference between fourth place and 11th, in recent seasons, has only amounted to a couple games.
“This year was proof that it’s up in the air,” Newell said. “Green Bay, [Purdue Fort Wayne], Cleveland State, and Robert Morris were the top four, but everyone else was just a few games apart. I’m excited about the competitiveness every single game, not just the big games.”
The first order of business will be to re-recruit the Grizzlies’ present roster – most of which attended the press conference – and quickly get acquainted with the hundreds of players in the now-open transfer portal to build a competitive team for next season, and develop a launch pad for the hopeful championships to follow.
Despite the coaching tumult of this past season, Oakland is one of five HL schools that has yet to see a player enter the portal, and most of this season’s squad, including all-conference second-teamer Maddy Skorupski, has remaining eligibility.
Though more substantial meetings will certainly transpire in the near future, Newell did her best to pitch the present team on sticking around.
“We’ll be on a journey that will be filled with ups and downs, but I think we have the pieces to put it all together,” she said.
“Let’s build something special together.”
Subscribe to our emails, and get our latest posts in your inbox, plus a weekly digest of everything we've published!
