Robyn Fralick - Women's Basketball Coach - Bowling Green State University Athletics

BGSU Women's Basketball - 2018-19 Team Photo

Robyn Fralick

Title:
Head Women's Basketball Coach
Email:
rfralic@bgsu.edu
Phone:
419-372-3710

2020-21 MAC COACH OF THE YEAR

Robyn Fralick recently completed her fifth season as head coach of the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team. In just a few short years with the Falcons, Fralick completely turned the program around.

(Note: On March 31, 2023, Fralick was named head coach at Michigan State University)

Fralick, led BGSU to a school record-tying 31 wins and a berth in the WNIT’s semifinal round in 2022-23. She came to BG in April of 2018 and began to rebuild a program that had won an average of 9.5 games per year over the previous four seasons.

Fralick and her 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 in her first two seasons, the Falcons posted marks of 69-31 overall and 38-18 in league regular-season play over her last three years. BGSU has qualified for national postseason play in each of those last three seasons.

Fralick and 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.

Fralick’s 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 Fralick 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 and her 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.

Fralick was named the 2020-21 MAC Coach of the Year, while Lexi Fleming earned MAC Freshman-of-the-Year accolades. Fleming (second team) and junior Kadie Hempfling were chosen to the All-MAC Team, and Nyla Hampton joined Fleming on the MAC’s All-Freshman Team while also being named to the MAC’s All-Defensive Team.

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. Hempfling and sophomore Elissa Brett each were named to the MAC’s All-Tournament Team.

In March of 2021, BGSU Director of Athletics, Recreation and Wellness Bob Moosbrugger announced a three-year contract extension for Fralick, extending her contract through March 31, 2027.

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 on a total of eight lists, including steals (third in the nation), 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 her first year at the BG helm, Fralick and the Falcons posted an overall record of 9-21 and a 2-16 MAC ledger. Those records, however, do not accurately reflect the progress Fralick, her staff and her team made during the 2018-19 campaign.

Those '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.

It was a similar story as the Falcons continued hammering away in 2019-20.In Fralick'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, Fralick's 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 Fralick's first two years, after doing so a total of 13 times in the previous four seasons.

Then, in ‘20-21, with three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior in the starting lineup, the Falcons’ efforts paid off in the form of a MAC regular-season title. A big reason for the program’s success, however, is the unselfishness of all 15 players on the team. Fralick’s core values and the lessons she has taught off the court have been just as important to the program’s turnaround as the X’s and O’s she and her staff have drawn up in games and practices.

The year before Fralick arrived in 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.

And, under Fralick, the Falcons have continued to excel in the classroom. In May of 2020, it was announced that the women's basketball team posted a perfect APR single-year rate of 1,000 for the fourth consecutive season, one of just three MAC programs to do so. Junior Madisen Parker, who set a school single-season record for three-point field goals made on the court, in 2019-20 had a perfect 4.000 GPA in the classroom and earned Academic All-District First-Team honors.

In late 2018, Fralick was named the recipient of the C. Vivian Stringer Coaching Award. The award is presented to an individual who has experienced outstanding achievement as a coach for female teams. The award's web site indicates that the winner exhibits "a high standard of propriety, imagination, and innovation as a character-builder in the tradition of great teacher-coaches."

Fralick was in very good company, as the previous five winners of the award were basketball coaching legends Kim Mulkey (Baylor, 2012 award winner), Sylvia Hatchell (North Carolina, 2013), Muffet McGraw (Notre Dame, 2014) and Dawn Staley (South Carolina, 2015) along with softball coaching standout Patty Gasso (Oklahoma, 2017).

Fralick's hiring was announced on April 3, 2018, and she was introduced to the BG community the following day, with an introductory press conference at the Stroh Center.

The architect of the two greatest offensive seasons in NCAA Division II women’s basketball history, Fralick joined the Falcons after 10 seasons at Ashland University, the final three as head coach.

Fralick came to BGSU sporting a head-coaching record of 104-3, for an incredible winning percentage of .972. The Eagles won the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2016-17 before returning to the national championship game and earning a runner-up finish in ‘17-18.

She arrived at BGSU with the highest winning percentage in NCAA history at any level (minimum of 100 games coached).

Fralick was named the 2018 United States Marine Corps/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year.

Fralick and the Eagles advanced to the NCAA Division II national championship game four times between 2012 and 2018, with national championships in both 2013 and ‘17, and runner-up finishes in 2012 and '18. AU won 73 consecutive games, the longest streak in NCAA Division II history, before a loss in the 2018 national title game.

Ashland finished the 2017-18 season with a 36-1 record. The Eagles scored 3,644 points on the season, the highest single-season total in the history of NCAA women’s basketball, regardless of division. Two of Ashland’s three seniors, Laina Snyder and Andi Daugherty, scored over 2,000 points in their collegiate careers, while the team’s third senior, Julie Worley, scored over 1,000 career points and was named the NCAA Division II Tournament’s Elite 90 Award winner. That award goes to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s championships.

AU sophomore Jodi Johnson was named the 2017-18 NCAA Division II Player of the Year by both the Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association (D2CCA) and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), and both Johnson and Snyder were named D2CCA First-Team All Americans, while Daugherty earned third-team honors.

The Eagles posted a perfect 20-0 record in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) for the second-straight season. Fralick and Johnson earned GLIAC Coach- and Player-of-the-Year honors, respectively, in 2017-18.

The success of the 2017-18 season came on the heels of a 2016-17 campaign that was one of the most impressive in women’s basketball history. The ‘16-17 season saw Fralick guide Ashland to the first 37-0 record in the history of Division II women’s basketball, and the program’s second national championship. Ashland scored the most points in a season in D-II women’s hoops history at 3,456, a record broken by the 2017-18 Eagles.

After the season, Fralick was named Coach of the Year by the WBCA, the NCAA Division II Basketball Bulletin, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Columbus Dispatch for the state of Ohio.

In 2015-16, Fralick’s first year at the helm, Ashland went 31-2, hosted the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional tournament, and won the GLIAC Tournament, GLIAC regular season and GLIAC South Division championships. AU finished the season ranked No. 7 in the USA TODAY Sports Division II Top 25 coaches’ poll.

Fralick earned both GLIAC and Columbus Dispatch Ohio Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year honors for her efforts as a rookie head coach.

Fralick was an assistant coach during her first three seasons with the Eagles, and was the program’s associate head coach from 2011-12 to 2014-15. During her time as associate head coach, the Eagles were 113-21 (.843).

As associate head coach, Fralick handled a number of responsibilities, including serving as the program’s recruiting coordinator and being heavily involved in scouting, practice preparation and on-the-floor coaching. During her first four seasons, Fralick focused on perimeter play and guard development. She worked with post players the last several seasons in that role. During Fralick’s seven seasons as an assistant coach, the Eagles won 74 percent of their games.

The 2011-12 campaign saw the Eagles go undefeated in GLIAC regular-season play and win the conference tournament. AU hosted the Midwest Regional and went on to finish as the Division II runner-up with a final record of 33-2.

The 2012-13 season was an historic one, as the Eagles again won GLIAC regular-season and tourney titles. AU hosted and won the Midwest Regional tournament and won the first national championship in school history, finishing the season at 37-1.

The 2014-15 season started slow for the Eagles with a youth-filled roster, but they finished strong with a 25-9 record, including a Sweet Sixteen finish in the NCAA tournament.

Before heading to Ashland, Fralick was an assistant coach at the University of Toledo during the 2007-08 season. She served as the director of basketball operations at Western Michigan University from 2005-07, and was an assistant coach at Appalachian State University during the 2004-05 campaign.

Fralick enjoyed a stellar playing career at Davidson College (2000-04). When she left the program, she was fourth in career assists, eighth in career steals and 12th in career free throw percentage. Fralick played in 114 games and started 64 contests for the Wildcats.

Fralick is a 2004 graduate of Davidson, having earned her undergraduate degree in psychology with a minor in religion. She earned her master’s degree in counselor education from Western Michigan in 2007.

A native of Okemos, Mich., the former Robyn Flewelling had a decorated career at Okemos High School. She earned second team all-state honors on the hardwood as a junior, and was named to the All-Michigan Fifth Team as a senior. A three-time all-league selection, she was voted one of the top 100 players in Michigan her final two seasons and was named team MVP for the 1999-2000 campaign. In addition to her basketball honors, she was named all-league in soccer as well as honorable mention all-league in softball.

Fralick was inducted into the OHS Athletic Hall of Fame in October of 2017.

Fralick and her husband, Tim, have two children, Will and Clara. During Robyn's three-year head-coaching tenure at Ashland, Tim was a volunteer assistant coach on the AU staff.

ROBYN FRALICK YEAR BY YEAR AT ASHLAND

Season	Overall	GLIAC	Notes
2008-09 ^	17-11	13-9
2009-10 ^	14-14	10-12
2010-11 ^	19-10	12-7
2011-12 ^	33-2	19-0	National Runner-Up
2012-13 ^	37-1	21-1	National Champion
2013-14 ^	18-9	16-6
2014-15 ^	25-9	17-5
2015-16 *	31-2	21-1
2016-17 *	37-0	20-0	National Champion
2017-18 *	36-1	20-0	National Runner-Up
Totals	267-59	169-41	.819 overall; .805 GLIAC
H.C. Totals	104-3	61-1	.972 overall; .984 GLIAC

^ Assistant Coach
* Head Coach

ROBYN FRALICK YEAR BY YEAR AT BGSU

Season	Overall	MAC	Notes
2018-19	9-21	2-16
2019-20	10-21	3-15
2020-21	21-8	14-4	MAC Regular-Season Champions; WNIT
2021-22	17-16	10-10	WBI
2022-23	31-7	14-4	WNIT Semifinals (Fab 4)
Totals	88-73	43-49	69-31 overall (38-18 MAC) over her final three years