South Dakota State head women’s basketball coach Aaron Johnston has announced the promotion of Carissa Thielbar to associate head coach.
“Carissa’s leadership and coaching experience are so valuable to our program,” said Johnston. “She is an excellent role model and mentor for our young women in their academic, athletic and personal development. The associate head coach title recognizes her talent and dedication towards helping us sustain a championship level program.”
Thielbar recently completed her ninth season on staff at South Dakota State. In that time, Thielbar has helped the program reach six NCAA Tournaments and win 12 Summit League titles – seven regular season crowns and five conference tournament championships. In total, with Thielbar on the bench, State has posted a .761 win percentage. SDSU is coming off a successful 2022-23 season that saw the Jacks go 29-6 and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Thielbar works primarily with SDSU’s perimeter players and has mentored numerous all-Summit League performers, including two-time Player of the Year Myah Selland, all-time Summit scoring leader Macy Miller and all-time Summit 3-point leader Madison Guebert. Thielbar is also largely involved in SDSU’s offensive game plans. The Jackrabbits ranked eighth nationally in field goal percentage and 13th in scoring offense this past season, and posted the country’s top 3-point percentage in 2021-22.
Thielbar also oversees the Jackrabbits’ academics. Guided by Thielbar, SDSU has posted a team GPA of 3.6 or higher in each of the last four years and led the nation in 2021-22 with a 3.837 team GPA. Also in 2021-22, every eligible team member earned a spot on the Summit League Honor Roll and Summit League Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence.
Thielbar is in her second stint at South Dakota State. Her first stop at SDSU spanned from 2011-15, during which she served as a graduate assistant an assistant coach. She returned to Brookings for the 2018-19 season following stints at Bucknell and Colorado State.
