Former Purdue assistant Katrina Merriweather (Cathedral) has been hired by first-year Wright State head coach Mike Bradbury.

Merriweather will get a fresh start with the Raiders program after a four-year hiatus from coaching in the college ranks after resigning her post at Purdue in 2006.  In 2007, the results of an NCAA investigation into infractions having to do with impermissible phone calls and academic violations while on the Boilermaker staff placed Merriweather into a three-year show-cause requirement for any NCAA school that might hire her during that period. That show-cause condition ran its course in August. Some of the impermissible phone calls in question were made to local standout Dee Dee Jernigan (East Chicago ’06) while her mother was dying of cancer.

An outstanding recruiter, Merriweather was instrumental in securing Boiler verbal commitments from three of Indiana’s top players in Amber Harris (North Central), Ta’Shia Phillips (Brebeuf) and Jernigan. All three players eventually ended up at Xavier, where they led the Musketeers to an Elite 8 appearance last season and fell short of a Final Four bid by just one bucket. WSU’s Bradbury was the recruiting coordinator at Xavier from 2002-03 to 2007-08.

Merriweather and Bradbury have some basketball history as well, as it was Bradbury who recruited and brought Merriweather to Cincinnati where she helped the Bearcats to four consecutive post-season appearances. The two also worked together on the Bearcat staff in 2001-02, when Merriweather was a graduate assistant for her alma mater.

Wright State is a member of the Horizon League, which will bring Merriweather back to her home state at least twice a year with conference games against Butler and Valparaiso.

More:

• Merriweather Named Women’s Basketball Assistant Coach – WSU
• Wright State hires former Purdue women’s assistant – Journal & Courier
• WSU women’s basketball hires assistant coach – Dayton Daily News