Women's Basketball
Whymer, Joel
Joel Whymer
- Title:
- Assistant Women's Basketball Coach
- Email:
- jwhymer@bgsu.edu
- Phone:
- 419-372-2255
Joel Whymer recently concluded his fifth season on the women's basketball staff at Bowling Green State University in 2022-23. Head coach Robyn Fralick announced Whymer's hiring on June 18, 2018. Whymer was named the program's recruiting coordinator in October of 2019.
He came to BGSU after spending the previous three seasons on the staff at Wayne State University in Detroit.
Upon arriving at BGSU, the staff slowly implemented their culture – both on and off the court – and style of play, while recruiting the bulk of the current team. After going 19-42 overall and 5-31 in Mid-American Conference regular-season games over the first two seasons, the Falcons posted marks of 69-31 overall and 38-18 in league regular-season play over the last three years. BGSU has qualified for national postseason play in each of those last three seasons.
The Falcons went 31-7 in 2022-23, tying the school and MAC single-season records for victories. With a wildly entertaining style of play, BGSU shattered the school records for points, field goals made and attempted, rebounds and steals this season. The Falcons led the MAC in six statistical team categories, and BGSU was ranked among the top-22 teams in the country in no fewer than nine categories, including assists, steals, turnovers forced, scoring offense, scoring margin and, most importantly, winning percentage.
As of March 30, 2023, BGSU was second in the entire nation in turnover margin, while ranking eighth in the country in both assist/turnover ratio and turnovers forced per game, ninth in steals per game and 15th in winning percentage.
The Falcons finished 14-4 in the MAC in 2022-23, and BGSU advanced to the MAC Tournament’s championship game for the second time in three seasons. Elissa Brett became the program’s first All-MAC First-Team selection in nine years, while Allison Day was named to the all-league second team. Nyla Hampton, who shattered the school single-season record for steals, was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Year, with Brett joining her on the MAC All-Defensive Team.
BGSU advanced to the WNIT and won four games in that tournament. BG downed Liberty, Green Bay, Memphis and Florida to advance to the semifinals of that 64-team tourney for the first time in school history. The last two games -- vs. UF and Columbia -- were played before loud, raucous crowds at the Stroh Center.
In the '21-22 campaign, BGSU lost nearly 75 player-games to injury -- including losing the reigning MAC Freshman of the Year just days before the start of the season -- but the coaching staff guided the Falcons to 17 wins and a second consecutive national postseason berth. The Falcons won 10 games in MAC play, were selected to participate in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) and went 2-1 in that tourney, finishing the '21-22 season with a victory.
BG went 17-16 overall and 10-10 in league play, and the Falcons led the conference in overall field-goal percentage as well as three-point field-goal rate. BGSU was ranked fourth in the entire nation in the latter category, shooting 38.4% from the arc in 2021-22.
The '21-22 Falcons also finished among the top-40 teams in the country in scoring, assists and steals, displaying an exciting brand of 'team-first' basketball typified by Fralick-coached squads over the years.
In the 2020-21 season, Fralick, Whymer and the staff orchestrated one of the top turnarounds in the nation. The Falcons, picked to finish in 11th place in the 12-team MAC standings, proceeded to win the league's regular-season title. BGSU went 14-4 in MAC play to earn the number-one seed for the MAC Tournament.
The Falcons, in fact, were tied for second in the nation on the NCAA’s list of top Division-I turnarounds from 2019-20 to ‘20-21, going 21-8 overall last season after finishing with a 10-21 record the previous winter.
In the MAC Tournament quarterfinals, BGSU defeated Eastern Michigan, 63-47, for the program’s first league tourney win since 2013. Then, the Falcons topped Buffalo, 80-67, in the semifinal round to advance to the MAC Tournament’s championship game for the first time since 2011.
BGSU finished the 2020-21 campaign ranked 65th in the nation in the final NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), after finishing 253rd in the RPI the previous season. BGSU led the MAC in nine statistical categories, including winning percentage, while ranking second among conference schools in nine other categories. And, the Falcons finished the season ranked 30th or higher in a total of eight categories, including steals (third), three-point field goals made (14th), turnover margin (16th) and assists (20th).
In 2020-21, BG more than quadrupled the program’s MAC win total from the previous season, and the Falcons more than doubled the overall win total from a year ago. Fralick’s first two teams, however, definitely showed glimpses of the turnaround to come.
In the new staff's first season in Northwest Ohio, Fralick, Whymer and the Falcons posted an overall record of 9-21 and a 2-16 Mid-American Conference mark. Those records, however, do not accurately reflect the progress made by the coaching staff and their team during the 2018-19 campaign.
The '18-19 Falcons saw a total of 13 games decided by eight points or fewer. In fact, 13 of BGSU's 18 MAC games were within three points with under 12 minutes remaining.
Twelve of those 18 conference contests, including 11 of the 16 losses, were within three points at some time in the fourth quarter. And, no fewer than seven of the Falcons' MAC matchups were tied or were a one-possession game in the final minute.
The Falcons continued hammering away in 2019-20, in the program's quest to return to the upper echelons of the MAC standings. In the staff's second year, 11 of BGSU's 21 total losses were by nine points or less. Four of those 11 – as well as an additional loss (by 10 points) – came in overtime.
A total of 19 of BG's 21 setbacks in 2019-20 were within eight points at some point in the fourth quarter. Fourteen of them were four-point games or closer with under eight minutes to go. And, no fewer than 10 were within two (or fewer) points within the last two minutes of regulation.
BGSU, 10-21 on the season, outscored opponents, 2241-2239, in the 31 games.
In 2019-20, the Falcons averaged 72.3 points per game. BGSU had not averaged as many as 70 ppg in nine years. The Brown and Orange scored 75 or more points in a game 14 times on the year, the program's highest since the 2010-11 team also had 14 games of 75-plus points en route to 28 wins. No team had had more since the 2009-10 team reached the 75-point plateau 15 times.
In fact, BGSU scored at least 75 points on 23 occasions in the first two years after Fralick, Whymer & Company arrived, after doing so a total of 13 times in the previous four seasons.
The year before the current staff came to BG, the Falcons were close to last in the nation in assists. BG was ranked 343rd in the country (out of 349 schools) in total assists and 345th in assists per game. Fralick's first year in town saw the Falcons move into the top 100 in the land in both categories, and in her second year, BG was ranked among the top 30 in each.
The 2019-20 Falcons dished out 502 assists, an average of 16.2 per game, ranking 27th in the country in total helpers and 25th in assists per contest.
In addition to serving on head coach Carrie Lohr’s staff at Wayne State, Whymer also served as head coach of the junior varsity team. The JV squad posted a 14-1 overall record over the final two years.
In 2017-18, Whymer's final season in the Motor City, the Warriors posted a 19-8 record, more than doubling the win total from the previous year. WSU went 14-6 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play and compiled a 10-3 record at home.
“I am extremely grateful to be joining the BGSU women’s basketball family,” said Whymer at the time of his hiring. “Coach Fralick is someone I really admire. Her core values will immediately impact the BGSU women’s basketball program and the entire community. I am excited to get to work with this entire coaching staff to help give our student-athletes a championship experience!”
WSU’s total of 19 wins in ‘17-18 nearly matched the total for the prior two seasons combined (20). Additionally, the JV team, under Whymer’s guidance, went 7-1 last season after posting a perfect 7-0 mark the previous winter.
The 2017-18 team had nine GLIAC All-Academic honorees, including six on the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team. In addition, the Warriors had three All-GLIAC recipients as Shannon Wilson was voted to the All-GLIAC First Team and Nastassja Chambers received Second Team All-GLIAC recognition. Ja’Nae Williams was named to the All-GLIAC Defensive Team.
During Whymer’s three seasons in Detroit, the Warriors had a total of 18 Academic All-GLIAC honorees,
Whymer joined the Warriors’ staff after spending one season (2014-15) as the head coach at St Clair County Community College (SC4). He led the Skippers to a 25-6 overall record and a share of the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) Eastern Conference championship with a 13-3 league mark.
That season, Whymer and the Skippers had one player, Jasmine Parker, named to the NJCAA All-Region XII First Team, and she also earned First Team All-MCCAA Eastern Conference accolades. Five additional players received All-MCCAA honors, and both Parker and Leah Humes were named to the NJCAA District H All-Tournament Team.
Prior to his appointment at SC4, Whymer spent two seasons as the head boys basketball coach at Marine City High School, where he was a special education teacher for five years.
As a player, he was named to the Class A All-State team as a senior at Port Huron Northern High School. Whymer was also the 2003 Port Huron Times Herald Player of the Year.
He played his first two seasons collegiately at Lake Superior State University (2003-04 and 2004-05), where he totaled 533 points in 47 games with 108 rebounds and 80 assists. After sitting out the 2005-06 campaign due to GLIAC transfer rules, Whymer played in 32 games for Grand Valley State University in 2006-07 scoring in double digits four times, including a season-high 17 points in a win at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL).
As a senior in 2007-08, he helped the Lakers to a 36-1 record with the lone loss coming to Winona State in the Elite Eight quarterfinals. Whymer tallied a season-high 16 points in a victory over Northern Michigan.
Whymer is a 2010 graduate of GVSU, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with an emphasis on special education. He earned a master’s degree in coaching education from Ohio University, and also earned a master's degree in sport administration from Wayne State in December of 2018.
Whymer and his wife, Rachel, were married in August of 2018.
He came to BGSU after spending the previous three seasons on the staff at Wayne State University in Detroit.
Upon arriving at BGSU, the staff slowly implemented their culture – both on and off the court – and style of play, while recruiting the bulk of the current team. After going 19-42 overall and 5-31 in Mid-American Conference regular-season games over the first two seasons, the Falcons posted marks of 69-31 overall and 38-18 in league regular-season play over the last three years. BGSU has qualified for national postseason play in each of those last three seasons.
The Falcons went 31-7 in 2022-23, tying the school and MAC single-season records for victories. With a wildly entertaining style of play, BGSU shattered the school records for points, field goals made and attempted, rebounds and steals this season. The Falcons led the MAC in six statistical team categories, and BGSU was ranked among the top-22 teams in the country in no fewer than nine categories, including assists, steals, turnovers forced, scoring offense, scoring margin and, most importantly, winning percentage.
As of March 30, 2023, BGSU was second in the entire nation in turnover margin, while ranking eighth in the country in both assist/turnover ratio and turnovers forced per game, ninth in steals per game and 15th in winning percentage.
The Falcons finished 14-4 in the MAC in 2022-23, and BGSU advanced to the MAC Tournament’s championship game for the second time in three seasons. Elissa Brett became the program’s first All-MAC First-Team selection in nine years, while Allison Day was named to the all-league second team. Nyla Hampton, who shattered the school single-season record for steals, was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Year, with Brett joining her on the MAC All-Defensive Team.
BGSU advanced to the WNIT and won four games in that tournament. BG downed Liberty, Green Bay, Memphis and Florida to advance to the semifinals of that 64-team tourney for the first time in school history. The last two games -- vs. UF and Columbia -- were played before loud, raucous crowds at the Stroh Center.
In the '21-22 campaign, BGSU lost nearly 75 player-games to injury -- including losing the reigning MAC Freshman of the Year just days before the start of the season -- but the coaching staff guided the Falcons to 17 wins and a second consecutive national postseason berth. The Falcons won 10 games in MAC play, were selected to participate in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) and went 2-1 in that tourney, finishing the '21-22 season with a victory.
BG went 17-16 overall and 10-10 in league play, and the Falcons led the conference in overall field-goal percentage as well as three-point field-goal rate. BGSU was ranked fourth in the entire nation in the latter category, shooting 38.4% from the arc in 2021-22.
The '21-22 Falcons also finished among the top-40 teams in the country in scoring, assists and steals, displaying an exciting brand of 'team-first' basketball typified by Fralick-coached squads over the years.
In the 2020-21 season, Fralick, Whymer and the staff orchestrated one of the top turnarounds in the nation. The Falcons, picked to finish in 11th place in the 12-team MAC standings, proceeded to win the league's regular-season title. BGSU went 14-4 in MAC play to earn the number-one seed for the MAC Tournament.
The Falcons, in fact, were tied for second in the nation on the NCAA’s list of top Division-I turnarounds from 2019-20 to ‘20-21, going 21-8 overall last season after finishing with a 10-21 record the previous winter.
In the MAC Tournament quarterfinals, BGSU defeated Eastern Michigan, 63-47, for the program’s first league tourney win since 2013. Then, the Falcons topped Buffalo, 80-67, in the semifinal round to advance to the MAC Tournament’s championship game for the first time since 2011.
BGSU finished the 2020-21 campaign ranked 65th in the nation in the final NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), after finishing 253rd in the RPI the previous season. BGSU led the MAC in nine statistical categories, including winning percentage, while ranking second among conference schools in nine other categories. And, the Falcons finished the season ranked 30th or higher in a total of eight categories, including steals (third), three-point field goals made (14th), turnover margin (16th) and assists (20th).
In 2020-21, BG more than quadrupled the program’s MAC win total from the previous season, and the Falcons more than doubled the overall win total from a year ago. Fralick’s first two teams, however, definitely showed glimpses of the turnaround to come.
In the new staff's first season in Northwest Ohio, Fralick, Whymer and the Falcons posted an overall record of 9-21 and a 2-16 Mid-American Conference mark. Those records, however, do not accurately reflect the progress made by the coaching staff and their team during the 2018-19 campaign.
The '18-19 Falcons saw a total of 13 games decided by eight points or fewer. In fact, 13 of BGSU's 18 MAC games were within three points with under 12 minutes remaining.
Twelve of those 18 conference contests, including 11 of the 16 losses, were within three points at some time in the fourth quarter. And, no fewer than seven of the Falcons' MAC matchups were tied or were a one-possession game in the final minute.
The Falcons continued hammering away in 2019-20, in the program's quest to return to the upper echelons of the MAC standings. In the staff's second year, 11 of BGSU's 21 total losses were by nine points or less. Four of those 11 – as well as an additional loss (by 10 points) – came in overtime.
A total of 19 of BG's 21 setbacks in 2019-20 were within eight points at some point in the fourth quarter. Fourteen of them were four-point games or closer with under eight minutes to go. And, no fewer than 10 were within two (or fewer) points within the last two minutes of regulation.
BGSU, 10-21 on the season, outscored opponents, 2241-2239, in the 31 games.
In 2019-20, the Falcons averaged 72.3 points per game. BGSU had not averaged as many as 70 ppg in nine years. The Brown and Orange scored 75 or more points in a game 14 times on the year, the program's highest since the 2010-11 team also had 14 games of 75-plus points en route to 28 wins. No team had had more since the 2009-10 team reached the 75-point plateau 15 times.
In fact, BGSU scored at least 75 points on 23 occasions in the first two years after Fralick, Whymer & Company arrived, after doing so a total of 13 times in the previous four seasons.
The year before the current staff came to BG, the Falcons were close to last in the nation in assists. BG was ranked 343rd in the country (out of 349 schools) in total assists and 345th in assists per game. Fralick's first year in town saw the Falcons move into the top 100 in the land in both categories, and in her second year, BG was ranked among the top 30 in each.
The 2019-20 Falcons dished out 502 assists, an average of 16.2 per game, ranking 27th in the country in total helpers and 25th in assists per contest.
In addition to serving on head coach Carrie Lohr’s staff at Wayne State, Whymer also served as head coach of the junior varsity team. The JV squad posted a 14-1 overall record over the final two years.
In 2017-18, Whymer's final season in the Motor City, the Warriors posted a 19-8 record, more than doubling the win total from the previous year. WSU went 14-6 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play and compiled a 10-3 record at home.
“I am extremely grateful to be joining the BGSU women’s basketball family,” said Whymer at the time of his hiring. “Coach Fralick is someone I really admire. Her core values will immediately impact the BGSU women’s basketball program and the entire community. I am excited to get to work with this entire coaching staff to help give our student-athletes a championship experience!”
WSU’s total of 19 wins in ‘17-18 nearly matched the total for the prior two seasons combined (20). Additionally, the JV team, under Whymer’s guidance, went 7-1 last season after posting a perfect 7-0 mark the previous winter.
The 2017-18 team had nine GLIAC All-Academic honorees, including six on the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team. In addition, the Warriors had three All-GLIAC recipients as Shannon Wilson was voted to the All-GLIAC First Team and Nastassja Chambers received Second Team All-GLIAC recognition. Ja’Nae Williams was named to the All-GLIAC Defensive Team.
During Whymer’s three seasons in Detroit, the Warriors had a total of 18 Academic All-GLIAC honorees,
Whymer joined the Warriors’ staff after spending one season (2014-15) as the head coach at St Clair County Community College (SC4). He led the Skippers to a 25-6 overall record and a share of the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) Eastern Conference championship with a 13-3 league mark.
That season, Whymer and the Skippers had one player, Jasmine Parker, named to the NJCAA All-Region XII First Team, and she also earned First Team All-MCCAA Eastern Conference accolades. Five additional players received All-MCCAA honors, and both Parker and Leah Humes were named to the NJCAA District H All-Tournament Team.
Prior to his appointment at SC4, Whymer spent two seasons as the head boys basketball coach at Marine City High School, where he was a special education teacher for five years.
As a player, he was named to the Class A All-State team as a senior at Port Huron Northern High School. Whymer was also the 2003 Port Huron Times Herald Player of the Year.
He played his first two seasons collegiately at Lake Superior State University (2003-04 and 2004-05), where he totaled 533 points in 47 games with 108 rebounds and 80 assists. After sitting out the 2005-06 campaign due to GLIAC transfer rules, Whymer played in 32 games for Grand Valley State University in 2006-07 scoring in double digits four times, including a season-high 17 points in a win at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL).
As a senior in 2007-08, he helped the Lakers to a 36-1 record with the lone loss coming to Winona State in the Elite Eight quarterfinals. Whymer tallied a season-high 16 points in a victory over Northern Michigan.
Whymer is a 2010 graduate of GVSU, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with an emphasis on special education. He earned a master’s degree in coaching education from Ohio University, and also earned a master's degree in sport administration from Wayne State in December of 2018.
Whymer and his wife, Rachel, were married in August of 2018.
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