Jen Theissen served as an assistant women's basketball coach at Youngstown State during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
In the first season with Theissen and head coach Bob Boldon on the bench, the Penguins improved significantly.
YSU finished the 2010-11 campaign winning three of their final seven contests. The three wins in that four-week span matched the program's win total of the previous two seasons combined. Overall, the Penguins went 6-24 for the campaign for a six-win improvement from the previous year. YSU improved its scoring margin from 2009-10 from minus-25.8 to minus-10.6. That 15.2-point improvement was the second best in the country.
The Penguins scored 9.9 more points per game and shot nearly five percent higher than in 2009-10. The Penguins trimmed their turnovers by 3.3 per game, and their plus-2.3 turnover margin ranked second in the Horizon League. YSU continued to get better as the season progressed, demonstrated by shooting better than its season field-goal percentage in 15 of its final 18 games.
Defensively, the Penguins held opponents to 5.4 fewer points on average than 2009-10 and forced 92 more steals than their opponents, which hadn't been done since 2001-02.
Individually, sophomore forward Brandi Brown had one of the best seasons in school history. Brown was named Second-Team All-Horizon League after finishing the regular season as the league's top scorer, becoming just the third player in school history to capture a conference scoring title. Brown averaged 19.9 points overall, one of the top 20 averages in the country, and 22.6 points during league play.
Junior Kenya Middlebrooks also flourished in the new offensive system. She made 60 3-pointers, which was the seventh-most by a Penguin in school history. She had just 26 treys in her first two seasons combined. Middlebrooks also tied a school record by making seven 3-pointers in a game. In fact, she did it twice – at UIC and against Valparaiso at home.
Additionally, Tieara Jones, a junior transfer in her first season, led the conference in blocks with 1.3 per game. Jones and Maryum Jenkins became the first pair of Penguins to record at least 60 steals since the 1997-98 season, and Liz Hornberger and Monica Touvelle became the first pair of freshmen in school history to make at least 25 3-pointers.
Theissen, recognized for her enthusiasm and work ethic first as a student-athlete and now as a coach, came to YSU with three years of Division I experience under her belt.
"Jen has had a successful career as a player and as a coach, and she has a great understanding of how to be successful," Boldon said. "She approaches everything she does with a great deal of enthusiasm, and she is a terrific addition to our staff."
Theissen was responsible for on-floor coaching, game preparation, assisting with recruiting and overseeing academic and equipment needs.
Prior to her arrival in Youngstown, Theissen was part of two successful mid-major programs at Canisius and Saint Francis (Pa.).
In her first of two seasons at Canisius in 2008-09, the Golden Griffins went 24-9, advanced to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship game and played Women's National Invitation Tournament. The 24 wins were a Division I record at Canisius, and the Golden Griffins qualified for the WNIT for the first time in program history.
Theissen's duties on the Canisius staff included recruiting high school student-athletes, scouting opponents, assisting with guard development, overseeing compliance issues and monitoring academic progress. Among the successes in those areas, guard Brittané Russell was named the 2009 MAAC Defensive Player of the Year and finished her career as the only player in MAAC history to record 1,200 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists and 300 steals over a career. Additionally, five Golden Griffins earned Academic All-MAAC honors in her first year, and Marie Warner was a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Third-Team Academic All-American.
Theissen spent the 2007-08 season at Saint Francis (Pa.) and helped start the rebuilding effort that allowed the Red Flash to win the Northeast Conference Tournament in 2009-10. There, in addition to her similar duties at Canisius, Theissen was charged with organizing travel arrangements, exchanging film and overseeing team community service activities.
Theissen got her coaching start as a student assistant at her alma mater, Division II Gannon University in Erie, Pa.
A four-year starter and two-time team captain for the Golden Knights, Theissen still owns Gannon's school record for career assists with 835 from 2001-05. She also finished her career with 1,045 points, which ranked 16th in school history when her career ended. Theissen also ranks among Gannon's career leaders with 112 games played, 538 rebounds and 260 steals (260). A two-time First-Time All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection, Theissen played under Boldon her freshman season when he was an assistant at Gannon. That season the Golden Knights went to the NCAA Division II Tournament as Theissen was named the conference freshman of the year.
Theissen graduated as a double major from Gannon in 2006. She earned a bachelor's in finance with a minor in marketing and a bachelor's in management with a minor in human resources. Theissen went on to earn a master's in sports administration from Canisius in 2010.
Theissen and her husband, Craig, were married in August 2010.
