A pair of Northern Illinois University women’s basketball players were named to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s “So You Want To Be A Coach” Program on Wednesday. Sixth-Year senior Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) and graduate student Brooke Stonebraker (Versailles, Ohio/ Versailles) were two of 80 graduating women’s basketball student-athletes selected to participate in a two-day workshop on April 3 and 4 during the WBCA Convention in Tampa, Fla.  

In the program’s 22^nd year, the “So You Want To Be A Coach” program helps develop the skills in graduating student-athletes needed to secure coaching positions in women’s basketball across all levels. Those selected will learn about the administrative side of coaching, recruiting, skill development, work-life balance, and more. Each participant is selected based on academics, contributions to women’s basketball on and off the court, professional resume, and a written recommendation from their head coach. 

In her sixth season, Koker has been named the All-Mid-American Conference team and the Academic All-MAC team three times apiece. She has been selected as the MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week four times throughout her career. Koker has compiled 1,667 points in her five seasons as a Huskie, including a 11.4 points per game average this season. Additionally, she ranks fourth in the MAC with 4.9 assists per game. She sees the “So” program as the first step towards a potential coaching career.

“I have a passion for basketball and as I’m coming down to the end of my career as a Huskie, I was thinking about the next steps,” said Koker. “This was an opportunity brought to me and it’s a program I could learn a lot from. I’m going into it with an open mind to learn as much as I can and getting my foot in the door.”  

A graduate student, Stonebraker is a three-time Academic All-MAC selection, an All-MAC third team selection and a CSC Academic All-District pick in the 2023-24 season. This season, Stonebraker was named the MAC Player of the Week on Dec. 17 and leads the team with 11.6 points per contest. Her 7.1 rebounds per game also lead the team and rank sixth in the MAC. 

“I want it to be a great learning experience,” Stonebraker said. “I want to be able to learn things that maybe I don’t see as a player and be able to apply that to life after basketball. It’s a great opportunity to learn some really good things from really good coaches.”

The Huskies host Miami tonight at the NIU Convocation Center at 6 p.m. Tickets for tonight’s game, and all remaining NIU basketball games, are available at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling 815-753-PACK (7225).