May 23, 2012

BERKELEY - California Golden Bear women's basketball head coach Lindsay Gottlieb announced the addition of Katy Steding to her coaching staff. Steding, a 1990 NCAA National Champion at Stanford and an Olympic gold medalist with Team USA in 1996 in Atlanta, comes to Cal from right across the bay, having spent the last two seasons serving as the associate head coach of the San Francisco Dons.

"I am ecstatic to be able to add a coach of Katy's stature to our staff," said head coach Lindsay Gottlieb. "Her background in the sport of women's basketball is staggering. As a national champion, Olympic gold medalist and WNBA player, she has experienced the success on the court that our players aspire. Katy has proven that she not only played the game at the highest level, but is one of the best teachers on the floor. All of our Cal Bears, and particularly our formidable post players, will reap the benefits of her knowledge."

Prior to her two year stint coaching alongside fellow Stanford alum Jennifer Azzi at USF, Steding had a decade-long coaching career that included being a head coach at NAIA Warner Pacific College (2001-08), an assistant with the WNBA Atlanta Dream (2008), and an assistant coach at Columbia University.

Steding joins Kai Felton and fellow Stanford alum Charmin Smith on Gottlieb's coaching staff, replacing Daron Park who resigned his position in April to pursue other career opportunities.

"I am so thrilled to be coaching with such a fabulous complement of people like Lindsay, Charmin and Kai. After meeting the staff and the girls on the team, I know that this is truly a great team on the verge of even greater accomplishments! I am so excited to be able to contribute to the excellence of the program at Cal."

Steding has spent the past two seasons working with Azzi to turn around the program at USF. During the spring signing period, Steding assisted in securing three top recruits, including junior college transfer Stephanie Lopez, who was fourth in the nation in scoring last season, and high school player Denae Williams who averaged 18.3 rebounds per game, which ranked fourth among the nation's prep players.

"Our staff and team has a unique chemistry that has come to define Cal Women's Basketball, and Katy will add so much to a group that I'm proud to work with," Gottlieb said. "Her reputation, recruiting connection, ability to relate to our players and unique playing and coaching experiences will help us to reach the most elite levels that we have in our sight."

After a year of coaching in the WNBA, Steding returned to the collegiate scene in 2009, leading Columbia to its best finish in Ivy League and school history. She also played an integral role in landing three of the most highly lauded recruits in program history. Steding's responsibilities included overseeing student-athlete development, scouting opponents and recruiting in the Western US.

In 2008-09, Steding served as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Dream, helping the expansion franchise reach the WNBA playoffs in its inaugural season.

Prior to joining the Dream, Steding spent seven years in her native Oregon as the head women's basketball coach at Warner Pacific College. During her stint in Portland, Steding recorded two 20-plus win seasons, leading the Knights to the NAIA Division II National Tournaments in 2004 and 2006. The 2004 selection to the national tournament was the first postseason appearance in school history for men's or women's basketball. In 2005-06, the Knights won their first ever Cascade Collegiate Conference title with a 22-9 record, as Steding was named CCC Coach of the Year. On the recruiting trail, Steding recruited 11 all-conference performers and four Academic All-Americans to Warner Pacific.

Prior to entering the coaching ranks, Steding assembled an impressive collegiate and professional career. A three-year Pacific-10 Conference selection at Stanford, Steding was one of the most versatile players in Cardinal history. She capped her career ninth in scoring with 1,586 points and fourth in rebounds with 864 boards. A remarkable shooter, Steding paced the conference in three-point shooting as a senior with a .464 clip. Steding teamed with current USF head coach Jennifer Azzi to lead Stanford to its first ever national championship in 1990.

Steding went on to play professionally overseas in Japan and Spain before returning stateside, earning a spot on the US Senior National Team in 1995-96. Dubbed the "Women's Dream Team", Steding joined Azzi and a myriad of other women's basketball standouts to compile a 60-0 record. The squad capped their undefeated run with a gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

From there, Steding moved on to play for the Portland Power of the American Basketball League and the Sacramento Monarchs and Seattle Storm of the WNBA. Steding retired from professional basketball in 2001.

A 2002 inductee in the Stanford Sports Hall of Fame, Steding was the CBS/Chevrolet Player of the Game in the 1990 NCAA title game, helping give Stanford its first national championship. Steding was a fixture on the All-Pac-10 Teams during her four-year Cardinal career (1986-90). A three-time first-team pick (1988-90) as well as an All-Freshman Team selection (1987), Steding finished her Stanford career second all-time with 864 career rebounds and third with 1,586 career points. Steding helped lead the Cardinal to its first two Pac-10 titles in 1989 and 1990, to its first Final Four where she was named to the All-Final Four Team after scoring 18 points and grabbing seven rebounds in the Cardinal's 88-81 title game win over Auburn.

A native of Tualatin, Oregon, Steding graduated from Stanford in 1990 with a degree in Psychology and was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.