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Katie Schumacher-Cawley

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Katie Schumacher-Cawley
Schumacher-Cawley in 2022
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamPenn State
ConferenceBig Ten
Record84–19 (.816)
Biographical details
Born (1980-03-10) March 10, 1980 (age 44)
Chicago, IL
Alma materPennsylvania State University
Playing career
1998–2001Penn State (volleyball)
2001–2002Penn State (basketball)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2002Illinois (Volunteer Assistant)
2003–2009UIC (Assistant)
2009–2016UIC
2017Penn
2018–2021Penn State (Associate HC)
2022–Penn State
Head coaching record
Overall209–165 (.559)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NCAA Division I Tournament Champions (2024)
Big Ten Champions (2024)
Awards
Big Ten Coach of the Year (2024)
Volleyball Magazine National Coach of the Year (2024)
Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame (2008)
Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Hall of Fame (2003)

Katie Anne Schumacher-Cawley (born March 10, 1980) is an American former volleyball and basketball player who is the head coach of the Penn State women's volleyball team. After serving as the associate head coach since 2018, she was named head coach on January 10, 2022, following Russ Rose's retirement from coaching.

Personal life

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Schumacher-Cawley is from Chicago, Illinois, growing up in Morgan Park. She attended Mother McAuley High School, graduating in 1997. In her high school career, she played both volleyball and basketball and was arguably the greatest athlete to ever come out of Mother McAuley, leading the volleyball team to two state titles in 1994 and 1995, and a runner-up finish in 1996.[1] In 2014, she was named to McAuley's Hall of Honor.[2] She was inducted into both the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference (GCAC) Hall of Fame and the Catholic League Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.[3]

She is married to Mike Cawley, who played football for James Madison University from 1993-95 and a sixth-round pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1996 NFL Draft. Together, they have three daughters.[4]

In October 2024, she announced that she was diagnosed with breast cancer.[5]

Career

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Playing career

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Schumacher-Cawley played both volleyball and basketball at Penn State, primarily focused on volleyball. With the volleyball team, she was a two time AVCA All-American, and helped lead Penn State to the 1999 national championship and three Big Ten Conference crowns.[1]

Coaching career

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Prior to being named the head coach at Penn State, Schumacher-Cawley was the head coach at UIC and Penn.[6]

A 2002 graduate of Penn State, she was a two-time American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American, three-time All-Big Ten selection, and three-time AVCA All-Region selection volleyball player for the Nittany Lions. She was a member of the 1999 NCAA national championship team and ended her Penn State career with 1,310 kills, 772 digs and 299 blocks. Schumacher-Cawley also played basketball for the Lady Lions basketball team in 2001–2002, and was part of the team's 2002 Sweet Sixteen run.[7]

In her first season as Penn State's head coach in 2022, the team went undefeated in its pre conference season, starting at 11–0,[8] despite having lost 7 starters from the previous season to graduation or transferring.[9] Penn State went 13–7 in conference play, finishing in 5th place.[10] Further, in 2022, she coached several players to conference and national recognition. In the Big Ten, senior outside hitter Kashauna Williams and junior middle blocker Allie Holland were named to first team, while senior setter Seleisa Elisaia were named to the second team. Freshman outside hitter Alexa Markley rounded out conference awards by being named to the All-Freshman team, and graduate student middle blocker Katie Clark earned the sportsmanship honor.[11] In the NCAA postseason, Penn State earned the #4 seed in the Wisconsin regional. She was the only first year head coach in 2022 to lead her team to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament. Moreover, Seleisa Elisaia, Allie Holland, and Kashauna Williams were recognized as AVCA all region first team players.

In the 2024 season, Schumacher-Cawley led the team to its best season in seven years, going 29–2 in regular season play, and won a share of the Big Ten title after defeating Nebraska in its final conference match. It was the program's 18th Big Ten title overall, and first since 2017.[12] She was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for her efforts. The team won the national championship that year, and so Schumacher-Cawley became the first female head coach winner of an NCAA women’s volleyball title.[13]

She also coached several players who were recognized with conference awards: Izzy Starck (Freshman of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten, All-Freshman Team), Jess Mruzik (Unanimous First Team All-Big Ten), Camryn Hannah (First Team), Taylor Trammel (First Team), Gillian Grimes (Second Team), Caroline Jurevicius (All-Freshman Team), and Ava Falduto (Sportsmanship Award).[14]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
UIC Flames (Horizon League) (2009–2016)
2009 UIC 16–18 8–8 5th
2010 UIC 13–18 7–9 6th
2011 UIC 14–15 7–9 5th
2012 UIC 19–13 10–4 2nd
2013 UIC 9–21 4–10 7th
2014 UIC 14–17 7–7 6th
2015 UIC 12–19 5–11 7th
2016 UIC 16–14 4–12 7th
UIC: 113–135 (.456) 52–70 (.426)
Penn Quakers (Ivy League) (2017)
2017 Penn 12–11 7–7 5th
Penn: 12–11 (.522) 7–7 (.500)
Penn State Nittany Lions (Big Ten) (2022–present)
2022 Penn State 26–8 13–7 5th NCAA regional semifinal
2023 Penn State 23–9 15–5 T–3rd NCAA regional semifinal
2024 Penn State 35–2 19–1 T–1st NCAA National Champions
Penn State: 84–19 (.816) 47–13 (.783)
Total: 209–165 (.559)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Schumacher-Cawley ready to lead way for Penn State".
  2. ^ "Alumnae Newsletter".
  3. ^ "UPenn Coaching Bio".
  4. ^ "Katie Schumacher-Cawley - Penn State Athletics Bio".
  5. ^ "Katie Schumacher-Cawley Diagnosed With Breast Cancer".
  6. ^ "UIC Profile - Katie Schumacher-Cawley".
  7. ^ "Katie Schumacher-Cawley Named Women's Volleyball Head Coach".
  8. ^ "Penn State women's volleyball starts conference play with Indiana, Michigan at Rec Hall".
  9. ^ "What 7 departing Penn State women's volleyball transfers bring to their new schools".
  10. ^ "Penn State women's volleyball closes out regular season with victory to sweep season series with Purdue".
  11. ^ "Big Ten Conference Announces 2022 Volleyball Postseason Honors" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 30, 2022.
  12. ^ "NO. 4 WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CLINCHES SHARE OF B1G TITLE WITH WIN OVER NO. 2 NEBRASKA".
  13. ^ Siroty, Michael (December 22, 2024). "Katie Schumacher-Cawley Becomes First Female Head Coach To Win Women's Volleyball NCAA Championship". Onward State.
  14. ^ "SCHUMACHER-CAWLEY AND STARCK EARN B1G AWARDS, FIVE NITTANY LIONS EARN ALL-B1G HONORS".