As Athletic Director Bill Moos lingers on deciding who will be the next head coach of the Oregon women’s basketball team, assistant coach Kirsten McKnight announced Thursday that she has accepted a position at California.
“It’s been a difficult decision to make because I’ve absolutely loved my experiences at Oregon,” said McKnight, who lettered for four years as a Ducks guard (1994-98). “It won’t be easy to leave this community, the players and everybody who makes Oregon women’s basketball a premier program on the West Coast.”
After three years as an Oregon assistant, the 25-year-old McKnight will be the top assistant and the main recruiting coordinator for the Bears. She will assist second-year Cal coach Caren Horstmeyer.
“I’m obviously excited about this opportunity to further my career,” McKnight said. “It’s a goal of mine to be a head coach at the Division I level. To move closer to this goal early in my career is exciting.”
McKnight’s future at Oregon was in question after Jody Runge resigned as head coach on April 30. Assistants Dan Muscatell and Fred Litzenberger have both expressed interest in remaining at Oregon.
Litzenberger interviewed for the vacant head coaching position and Muscatell submitted a general application for one of the three openings.
Moos has said that the new head coach — whom he hopes to announce sometime in the next week — will decide who the assistants will be.
Of the 38 applications he received, Moos interviewed five candidates for the position: former Oregon standout and Canadian Olympic coach Bev Smith, Xavier’s Melanie Balcomb, Southwest Missouri State’s Cheryl Burnett, Utah’s Elaine Elliott and Litzenberger.