MOUNT CARMEL – The search is over, Wabash Valley College has officially filled its women's basketball head coach vacancy.
After an extensive coaching search, WVC announced on Thursday morning the hiring of Lacey Shalenko as the new head women's basketball coach of the Lady Warriors, effective Sept. 1.
Shalenko has been a coach at the collegiate level for the past nine seasons, with stops at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Angelino State, and most recently as an assistant coach at Moberly Area College.
"I would like to thank President Dr. Fowler and Athletic Director Mike Carpenter for this phenomenal opportunity to lead the Lady Warriors," said Shalenko in a press release via Wabash Valley College. "I am extremely excited to get to work and continue the success of an already established powerhouse junior college program."
A native of Collinsville, Illinois, Shalenko played four seasons at the University of Missouri – St. Louis, where she was not only a standout on the court, but graduated Magna Cum Laude. She continued her education at UMSL and earned her Master's Degree in Business Administration in 2012.
Shalenko got her start in coaching as an assistant UMSL, where, in her first season, she helped lead the Tritons to just their second NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. She then accepted the Assistant Coaching/Recruiting Coordinator position at NCAA Division I Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville. In her two seasons at SIUE, Shalenko recruited 4 All Ohio Valley Conference players, and one Player of the Year.
She then moved to Angelino State University, an NCAA Division II school in San Angelo, Texas, where she served as the Recruiting Coordinator and Assistant Coach. Shalenko recruited four All-Conference players and the Player of the Year for the Road Runners.
Shalenko continued, "Wabash Valley College has garnered national recognition because of its rich winning tradition and I could not feel more blessed to be a part of the Warrior Family. I am looking forward to helping student-athletes continue to compete at the highest level and move on to accomplish their future goals. We have a talented group of players who are competitive, hardworking and simply love the game of basketball. I can't wait to see what this season holds."
Coach Shalenko was the Top Assistant at Moberly Area College in 2018-19 and helped guide MAC to the Region Tournament Championship game.
WVC Athletic Director Mike Carpenter said of Shalenko "We had a ton of applicants for this position and our Committee was blown away by Coach Shalenko's resume and energy. Her strong recruiting ties in the Midwest, enthusiasm and work ethic made her an easy choice. We are thrilled to have Lacey Shalenko as our Head Women's Basketball Coach, and are excited to have her in the Mount Carmel Community."
Shalenko will inherit a Lady Warriors team that finished the 2018-19 season ranked No. 1 in the country, finishing with a 32-1 overall record after earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball National Tournament.
Returning from that team includes a plethora of talent, including highly touted returners Keya Patton, KK White, Krisen Hunt, and Shi Banks, coupled with the Lady Warriors' incoming class.
She'll replace former Lady Warriors Head Women's Basketball Coach Jack Trosper, who resided as head coach for a season prior to departing for an assistant coach position at the University of Southern Mississippi in July. Trosper oversaw arguably the greatest season in program history, and Shalenko will hope to continue such success into her tenure.