Marc Mitchell enters his second season as the head women's basketball coach at Indiana State and was named the 10th head coach in program history on May 10, 2024.
Mitchell’s first season at the helm in Terre Haute saw the Sycamores post their best offensive numbers in 15 years, with Indiana State averaging just shy of 66 points per game. The Trees hit the 90-point mark in a game for the first time since the 2013-14 season, while also tying a program single-game record with 15 3-pointers at Southern Illinois. Deja Jones recorded the second triple-double in program history at SIU, while Bella Finnegan broke a program single-game record with eight 3-pointers against the Salukis. Jones recorded the highest assist total by a Sycamore since the 2010-11 season, while Keslyn Secrist tallied the most points in season by an Indiana State player since the 2013-14 campaign. Savannah White also led the MVC in blocks with 51, a number which ranked in the top five in program history for a single season.
Mitchell comes to the Sycamores by way of the University of Indianapolis where he served as the head coach of the Greyhounds since the 2022-23 season. Over his tenure at UIndy, Mitchell guided the team to a double-digit win improvement and led the team to its first win in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament in over six years.
“Indiana State University welcomes Coach Mitchell to our Sycamore family. His coaching experience and his proven track record of consistent program growth and development make him the right leader to take over our women’s basketball team at this time. We look forward to seeing our women’s basketball student-athletes back in action at the Hulman Center under Coach Mitchell’s leadership next season,” said Dr. Deborah Curtis, President of Indiana State University.
“I am excited to welcome Coach Mitchell and his family to Indiana State,” Lansing said. “I look forward to working with him to advance Sycamore Women’s Basketball. I believe his head coaching experience, and his experience in building successful programs will serve our student-athletes well.”
“I want to thank President Curtis and Interim Athletic Director Angie Lansing for this tremendous opportunity to serve as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Indiana State University,” Mitchell said. “I am excited to bring my competitiveness, high energy, and will-to-win mentality to this program. We will strive for excellence on and off the court. Indiana State University Women’s Basketball will achieve great things by working together, AS ONE!”
Four UIndy players earned All-GLVC postseason All-Conference recognition during his time at the helm including Elana Wells being selected to the Second Team twice. The Greyhounds found their way to the free throw line throughout his tenure leading the conference in free throws made per game (16.87), free throw attempts per game (21.67) and free throw percentage (77.8) in his first season, while sitting top three in the conference in scoring offense (74.9) in 2023-24.
A native of Elizabeth, N.J., Mitchell spent four seasons at Saint Peter's University in Jersey City, N.J. He took over a program that averaged more than 26 losses over the previous eight seasons and turned it into a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference contender. The culmination came in 2020-21 when he led the Peacocks to their first winning conference record since 2008-09 and first MAAC Championship Game appearance in nearly two decades. Mitchell was named MAAC Coach of Year that season, the program's first such award since 1999.
Mitchell earned his first NCAA head coaching job at Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham in 2009-10, and over the next nine seasons, he shaped the program into a national powerhouse. In 2013, he led the Devils to the first of six consecutive Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom titles and their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance, picking up MAC Freedom Coach of the Year accolades along the way.
The dream season came in 2013-14, however, when Mitchell was voted the Division III Coach of the Year after guiding the Devils to a perfect 33-0 record and a national championship. He tacked on a 29-win season and an Elite Eight appearance the next season and ultimately finished his tenure at FDU-Florham with six NCAA appearances and an 187-67 (.736) record as the program's all-time winningest coach.
Mitchell also spent time as an assistant coach at Caldwell College (2008-09) and New Jersey City University (2007-08) after three years as a teacher and head girls' basketball coach at Elizabeth High School in his hometown.
Mitchell graduated from Kean University in 2000 with a History degree and later earned a master's in Education from American Intercontinental in 2008. He and his wife Winsome have two daughters, Amira and Jade, and twin sons, Jemal and Jalen.
