CARBONDALE (WSIL) -- Southern Illinois University announced is has named Kelly Bond-White as the 11th women's head basketball coach in program history.Â
Bond-White comes to Carbondale after 19 seasons at Texas A&M, including 15 seasons as the Aggies' associate head coach. During her time in College Station, the Aggies made three Elite Eight appearances, won five conference titles and one National Championship (2011). All told, Bond-White coached 18 NCAA Tournament teams, as well as 18 All-American student-athletes.
At Southern Illinois, she succeeds , who retired after a 2021-22 season in which the Salukis won their first Missouri Valley Conference championship since 2007 and advanced to the WNIT.
"We feel this hire demonstrates our commitment to sustaining a championship-caliber women's basketball program," said , SIU's director of athletics. "Kelly understands what it takes to build and maintain a winning program at the highest level. She is highly regarded in the basketball community, is a great recruiter, and will be an outstanding leader for our student-athletes."
A Chicago native, who graduated from the University of Illinois, Bond-White will make her head-coaching debut at Southern Illinois.
"I'm excited to return home to the state of Illinois where my journey began," she said. "The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for me and my family. Chancellor (Austin) Lane and Matt flying to Texas to have breakfast in my home and discuss the future of SIU Basketball left an impression on my entire family. What I found in their relentless pursuit were details mirroring my own core values. I look forward to engaging with my current student-athletes at SIU and listening to their wants and needs, and bringing my vision of toughness, empowerment, faith, accountability, and a pursuit of excellence in everything we do," she said. "The gift of the present is all we have and I couldn't be more excited to get in the gym with our young ladies and hit the ground running in recruiting."
Bond-White played point guard at Illinois and helped the Illini achieve several milestones during her four-year career, including back-to-back NCAA Sweet 16 appearances.
