Natalie Sweeney recently finished her first season as an assistant coach on the women's basketball staff at Presbyterian College. She originally joined the program in July of 2020.
In her first season with the program, Presbyterian notched its best overall record (11-10) since 2015-16, and picked up its most Big South Conference victories (10), since 2016-17. Presbyterian also had three All-Conference performers, as Tionna Carter, Jade Compton and Trinity Johnson were all named Honorable Mention All-Big South.
Sweeney came to PC after two years as an assistant coach with the women's basketball program at Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky. In her two seasons at Transylvania, the Pioneers went 52-6, earning two Heartland Conference Season and Tournament Championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 berth in 2019. Transylvania earned two top-20 WBCA/D3Hoops rankings and won over 25 games each season.
As assistant coach at Transylvania, Sweeney’s responsibilities included directing guard play development, scouting, recruiting, and overseeing summer team and individual camps, as well as hosting day camps during the school year.
Following her first season at Transylvania, Sweeney was selected for a collection of exclusive coaching opportunities to further hone her experience. In April 2019, she joined a select number of elite women's assistants from across the country as part of the Women Coaches NextUP program, conducted by the Women Leaders in College Sports and in partnership with the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. NextUP is a program geared towards promoting the advancement and retention of female basketball coaches in college athletics. Participants in the NextUP program learned from college athletics administrators with a focus on leadership and career advancement during the workshop.
Sweeney also participated in the Basketball Coaches Academy hosted by the NCAA in May 2019. She was one of 30 coaches in the nation selected from across the three divisions of men's and women's college basketball. At the Coaches Academy, Sweeney was part of a coaching event that offered instruction on communication with campus and community members, building a culture of on-and off-court success for student-athletes, budget management and coaching strategies.
In June of 2019, Sweeney attended the Women’s Coaches Academy offered by WeCOACH and the NCAA. WeCOACH is an organization dedicated to the recruitment, advancement and retention of women coaches of all sports and levels.
Prior to joining the Transylvania staff in 2018, Sweeney worked at Illinois-Springfield, where she was an assistant coach for two seasons. The program experienced unprecedented success during her two-year stint, with the 2017-18 squad setting a program record for most overall wins, most conference wins and making the program's first appearance in the D2SIDA rankings.
Sweeney’s budding coaching career follows a standout playing career at Morehead State University in Morehead, Ky., where she played from 2011 through 2016.
In April 2016, Sweeney was selected for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's "So You Want to Be a Coach" program. Presented in partnership with WeCOACH, this program assists female collegiate basketball players who are interested in pursuing a career in coaching women's basketball by providing them with professional development and career advancement through education, skills enhancement, networking and exposure opportunities. The program also increases awareness regarding the availability of talented female basketball players who want to coach.
Sweeney's arrival to Lexington marked a return to her Central Kentucky roots; the Elizabethtown, Ky., native was a standout player at Elizabethtown High School, where she was named the 5th Region Player of the Year in 2011 and led her team to a State runner-up finish in 2009.
Sweeney earned a Bachelor of Arts in Health and Physical Education from Morehead State University in 2015. She also obtained her Master of Education in Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership from the University of Illinois in August 2017.Â
