| Kirsten McKnight |
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Kirsten McKnight, a veteran of the Pac-10 Conference as a player and coach, begins her fourth season as an assistant coach at the University of California.
McKnight's responsibilities at Cal include assisting with recruiting, scouting opponents and working with the development of the guards. She also works closely with the school's marketing department, helping the Bears set a program home attendance average record of 1,615 and a single-game Haas Pavilion record of 3,712 (against Stanford) in 2003-04.
After serving for three seasons as an assistant coach at Oregon, McKnight returned home to the Bay Area in time for the 2001-02 season. During her tenure, the Ducks won two Pac-10 championships and competed in three NCAA Tournaments. In addition to her coaching duties, she was the director of the Oregon Girls' Basketball Camps and the program coordinator for the Oregon Women's Basketball Fast Break Club.
The Larkspur product also competed in four NCAA Tournaments as a guard for the Oregon women's basketball team from 1995-98. She began her collegiate playing career as a walk-on and was awarded a full scholarship by her junior season.
McKnight gave the Ducks on-court leadership and was voted by her teammates as the 1998 Bev Smith Most Inspirational Player. She also excelled in the classroom, twice earning Academic All-Pac-10 honors, and in 1998 was nominated for regional GTE Academic All-America recognition.
As with Cal head coach Caren Horstmeyer, McKnight began her playing career at Redwood High School. The 1994 salutatorian was selected her team's MVP and was named the Player of the Year in the Marin County Athletic League as a senior. She also was a two-time first team all-league pick and completed her career as Redwood's career scoring leader.
McKnight received her bachelor's degree in business administration from Oregon in 1998 and finished her MBA in Eugene in 2001. She currently resides in Larkspur.
