July 8, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford has promoted assistant women's basketball coach Katherine Katz within the staff, head coach Mike Morris announced Wednesday.

"We are very excited to promote Katherine Katz into a recruiting position," Morris said. "She has demonstrated in the short time she has been here a tremendous work ethic and a great commitment to our program."

Katz replaces Shondra Johnson, who recently accepted a similar position at Tulane University. In her new position Katz will be involved in all aspects of the program, including recruiting and practice and in-game coaching.

"Katherine is a tireless worker, and we are looking forward to her being an even bigger part of our program," Morris said.

Katz has been on the Samford staff for one season. In 2008-09, she handled all aspects of the Bulldogs' road trips, including hotels, meals and practice times. She was named the athletics department's Assistant Coach of the Year at the inaugural SAMSPYS Awards in the spring.

In her first season on the Samford coaching staff, she helped lead the Bulldogs to a 22-7 overall record, the second-most wins in school history. The Bulldogs also won a school-record 16 Southern Conference games, going 16-4 in league play.

Katz came to Samford after serving on the staff at Louisiana State University (LSU). Katz was a graduate assistant for the Lady Tigers from August, 2006 to May, 2008.

During her time at LSU, Katz assisted with day-to-day office responsibilities, directed tape exchange with opponents and assisted with special player breakdown and recruiting compilations. She also worked with community promotions and the Junior Fast Break Club for community youth.

Katz was also an administrative assistant for LSU from January to June of 2007. In that role, she served as an assistant to the head coach. She also managed the head coach's foundation and assisted with the direction of the summer camps.

Prior to going to LSU, Katz served as a volunteer student assistant at her alma mater, Birmingham-Southern. In her role at BSC, Katz organized monthly schedules for the coaching staff, compiled schedules for recruiting purposes and handled tape exchange.

Katz earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Birmingham-Southern in English in May of 2006. While a student at BSC, she was a four-year member of the softball team and a three-year member of the Big South Conference Presidential Honor Roll. Katz also received her Master's in Kinesiology from LSU in May of 2008.

Morris said he plans to complete the coaching staff by hiring a third assistant coach later this summer.