McDaniel College’s search for a new women’s basketball coach is over.
The Green Terror announced Thursday the hiring of Christin Gowan, who comes to the Hill after serving two years as head coach at Southern Vermont College. Gowan is set to replace Becky Martin, who coached the Terror for 37 seasons (1981-2018) and led the program to 554 wins.
Martin stepped down after the 2017-18 season when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and she’s planning to officially retire at the end of the spring semester.
Gowan, 29, becomes the sixth women’s hoops coach in McDaniel history, and just the fourth since 1967.
“It’s a really exciting time,” Gowan said. “I know that this is a type of opportunity that doesn’t come around twice. When I was on my interview on campus, I mentioned that this might be a job that doesn’t open again in my whole coaching career. People want to go to McDaniel, and they want to stay because it’s such a great place.”
Southern Vermont improved in each of its two seasons under Gowan. The Mountaineers made their first conference tournament appearance in four years in 2019. While at Southern Vermont, she also served as associate director of athletics, serving as senior woman's administrator and overseeing compliance and game-day management. She was also tabbed interim director of athletics last summer.
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But Southern Vermont is scheduled to close at the end of this school year, and Gowan was left to hunt for a new job. She heard about McDaniel’s national search, and soon earned an on-campus interview.
“When we began this search, we knew we’d attract a very strong pool of applicants and we did,” McDaniel athletic director Paul Moyer said in a news release. “During the process, Christin emerged as a top candidate and, upon her visit, it became clear she was a natural fit. … I am confident that she will be able to continue the success that our women’s basketball program has become accustomed to over its history.”
Prior to her time at Southern Vermont, Gowan was an assistant coach at Occidental College in Los Angeles from 2015-17. She served as an assistant coach at Division II California State University-Stanislaus, from where she graduated in 2010.
Gowan was a four-year member of the women's basketball team and was named the school’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a senior. She also earned a spot on the California Collegiate Athletic Association’s All-Academic Team three times. She was an Academic All-District second-team selection in 2011.
Gowan led the team in 3-pointers as a junior and a senior, and led the team in assists with 114 as a senior. She holds the Warriors' record for free-throw percentage in a single season, hitting 70 of 80 attempts (87.5 percent) in 2007-08. She also holds the career free-throw percentage record at 79.5 percent (267 of 336).
Gowan said she’s eager to get started when her duties officially begin June 3.
“I’m all about the grind, I’m all about trying to get really good players,” she said. “And I think it’s a school that sells itself. You bring kids on campus, they’re going to fall in love. There’s no doubt about it. There’s so much upside to this job, and I think I can just bring it to the next level.”