Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Head Coach
Cindy Stein spent 12 seasons as the head coach of Missouri women's basketball from 1998-2010.
Stein led the Tigers to 185 wins and in just her third year, led the Missouri to a Sweet 16 Appearance following a to a 22-10 record.
Stein's tenure at Mizzou saw the Tigers make seven total postseason appearances with three NCAA Tournament bids and four WNIT appearances. Stein's players at Mizzou earned a combined 24 All-Big 12 honors with four First-Team selections, and she coached five Tigers who were selected in the WNBA Draft. Additionally, Mizzou players earned a combined 46 Academic All-Big 12 honors under Stein's watch.
Following a 13-15 mark during her first season in Columbia, Mo., Stein's Tigers went 18-12 during the 1999-2000 season, marking the program's best record in seven seasons. The 1999-2000 Tigers also earned the program's first postseason berth since 1994 with a trip to the WNIT.
Stein's third year saw Mizzou go to historic heights as the 2000-01 Tigers posted their best record in 13 years and made a run to the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history. Following the season, Amanda Lassister became Mizzou's first-ever first-round WNBA Draft pick when she was selected 15th overall by the Houston Comets while fellow Tiger Marlena "Pep" Williams was selected by the Indiana Fever in the third round.
Missouri ultimately made it to the postseason six-consecutive seasons with WNIT berths in 2001-02 and 2002-03 before capping the run with an NCAA Tournament berth in 2003-04. The Tigers also continued sending players into the professional ranks as three-time All-Big 12 selection Evan Unrau was selected in the third round of the 2004 WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics.
The 2005-06 season was another banner year for the program as the Tigers went 21-10 for their second 20-win season of Stein's tenure, and made it back to the NCAA Tournament. Mizzou had two more players selected in the WNBA draft following the 2005-06 season as LaToya Bond was selected by the Charlotte Sting in the second round and Christelle N'Garsanet was taken in the third.
The 2006-07 Tigers gave Stein her sixth postseason win at Mizzou with a victory in the opening round of the WNIT. Stein coached Mizzou to the most postseason appearances and postseason wins in program history.
After departing Missouri, Stein coached Central College in 2012-13 and led the program to a 32-4 record and a third-place finish at the NJCAA Division II national tournament during her lone season. Stein turned around an ICC team that went 16-16 the year before her arrival and was named the NJCAA Region XX1V Coach of the Year following ICC's run.
Stein went on to coach eight seasons at Southern Illinois from 2013-2021 with a 115-124 career record, winning the Missouri Valley Conference's Regular Season Championship in 2021-22.
Stein was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Hall of Fame Saturday, May 4, 2019 at the 47th annual IBCA Hall of Fame ceremony.
Prior to Missouri, Stein spent three seasons as the head coach at Emporia State turning the Hornets from a sub-.500 team into a Division II national title contender. After going 12-14 in her first season at ESU in 1995-96, the Hornets improved to 20-10 the following season and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before going 33-1 and finishing as the national runner up in 1997-98.
The 1997-98 Hornets went 16-0 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, earning MIAA Regular Season and Tournament Championships in advance of the historic run to the NCAA Division II title game. Stein coached two-time All-Americans Aneta Kausaite and Jurgita Kausaite at Emporia State in addition to recruiting All-Americans Emily Bloss and Tara Holloway, who both went on to earn National Player of the Year honors. Aneta Kausaite eventually became the first-ever Division II player to play in the WNBA.
Following Emporia State's run to the 1997-98 title game, Stein was named the National Coach of the Year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, the Molten Division II Bulletin and the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association. She was also selected as the 1998 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year and the District VI Coach of the Year.
Before becoming a head coach at Emporia State, Stein was an assistant coach at Illinois (1993-95), Bradley (1988-1993), Cincinnati (1987-88) and Miami University (1986-87). Stein began her foray into coaching as a graduate assistant at Central Michigan from 1984-86.
Stein played collegiately at Illinois from 1981-83 after two years at Illinois Central College from 1979-81. Stein helped the Illini to the 1982 NCAA Tournament, and she still holds several Illinois assists records. A junior college All-American, Stein also helped ICC to back-to-back appearances in the NJCAA national tournament.
Stein has a bachelor's degree in physical education from Illinois and a master's degree in physical education from Central Michigan.
