Katie Gearlds

Gearlds was born in Beech Grove, Indiana and attended Beech Grove High School. In her four years, she compiled 2,521 career points, which ranked her fourth in Indiana history. She won numerous awards in her high school career, including being named Miss Basketball in 2003, after leading the Hornets to the 3A State Championship. Gearlds was also named a WBCA All-American, and participated in the 2003 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored ten points.[1] She was the MVP of the 2003 McDonald's All-American Game.

Gearlds went on to star at Purdue University. In her four years as a Boilermaker, she compiled 14.8 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game, and 3.0 assists per game. The team had a 103–30 record during her tenure. She earned the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors in 2007 after Purdue defeated Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game.[2] She also won both the women's and overall State Farm College Three Point Championships on March 29, 2007,[3] defeating male competitor and future NBA starter Aaron Brooks 17 to 16.

She graduated from Purdue in 2007 with a bachelor of science degree in sociology with a minor in psychology and communications.

Source[4]

On April 4, 2007, Gearlds was selected by the Seattle Storm with the seventh overall pick in the 2007 WNBA draft. In her rookie campaign, Gearlds appeared in 33 games for the Storm. She averaged 4.0 points per game, 1.6 rebounds per game, and 1.5 assists per game. She only played two more WNBA seasons (all with Seattle), appearing in 87 total games and averaging 4.4 points per game.

However, Gearlds playing career continued overseas. She spent two seasons (2011–12) in Spain as a professional player, and she also spent three years (2008–10) in Greece where she played and served as an assistant coach. She also spent some of 2007 in Slovakia as a player. In early 2013, she spent the year playing in Portugal and averaged 14.3 points per game for Alges where she was part of the league and cup championship teams.

On July 16, 2013, Gearlds was named the head coach of the women's basketball team at Marian University.

In just her second season, Gearlds led the Knights to a 28-6 record, earning the program's second-ever NAIA Division II National Championship Tournament berth, and first Crossroads League title. In her third season, she led the Knights to a record of 32-6 (.842) and won the 2016 National title, the first in program history. The Knights repeated as National Champions in 2017, winning their final 23 games to finish with a school-record 35 wins.

• WNBA profile
• Purdue University profile
• Marian University press release