Kaitlyn Vican enters her second year on staff with the Navy women's basketball team having joined the program as an assistant coach in September of 2018.
Vican's first season (2018-19) was one marked by contributions from an extremely young squad with only one senior on its roster. The team's top-three scorers all were underclassmen with freshmen guards Jennifer Coleman (13.1 ppg) and Kolbi Green (8.8 ppg) leading the team. Coleman's work as Navy's starting point guard culminated with spots on both the All-Patriot League Third Team and Patriot League All-Rookie Team. As a team, Navy stayed competitive throughout the 2018-19 season (five losses by five or less points) on the strength of its defense that allowed just 57.8 points per game, the second-lowest in the Patriot League. Senior Bianca Roach was a leading factor for the Mids' defense as the All-Patriot League Defensive Team member ranked third in the conference with 2.0 steals per game.
Vican arrives in Annapolis after serving as an assistant coach at St. Francis Brooklyn for six seasons from June 2011 through May 2017. While on staff with the Terriers, Vican helped improve a 3-25 club in 2011-12 to an 11-win team in 2012-13 to a program-best 19-11 in 2013-14. The culmination of Vican and the Terriers' turnaround came in 2014-15 when the team appeared in its first-ever Northeast Conference Championship and defeated Robert Morris to secure the first NCAA Championship bid in program history.
Her specific responsibilities on staff at St. Francis Brooklyn included coaching post players, scouting, recruiting, travel coordination, alumni relations and social media management. Additionally, she played a leading role in mentoring and monitoring academic progress. During her tenure in Brooklyn Heights, the Terriers were consistently amongst the nation's leaders in cumulative GPA. Following the 2015-16 season, St. Francis Brooklyn placed first in the standings for the WBCA Division I Academic Top-25 Honor Roll with a 3.712 cumulative team GPA.
Before joining the coaching ranks, Vican played collegiate basketball first at Northwood University (NAIA) in West Palm Beach, Fla. from 2006 to 2008. As a freshman, she was named the FSC Player and Rookie of the Year, becoming the first player in league history in any sport to claim both honors in the same season. Vican was named to the NAIA Honorable Mention team in 2006-07 after averaging 14.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. She came back as a sophomore and averaged 14.3 and 8.3 to earn a spot on the All-FSC Second Team.
Prior to the 2008-09 season, she transferred to Fordham University looking to play out her remaining two years of eligibility with the Rams. After sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer rules, Vican averaged 11.1 points as a junior on the Fordham squad in 2009-10. Unfortunately for Vican, her career was cut short as she suffered a back injury in the middle of her first competitive season with the Rams. She continued on in a supportive role with Fordham while completing her degree in Communications and Media Studies. Vican graduated in 2011.
Originally from York, Pa., Vican now resides in the DC area with her husband, Lennis.
