Christine Collins-Kiernan is in her ninth season at the helm of the CUI women's basketball program. In her role as head coach for the Golden Eagles, Collins-Kiernan strives to provide female student-athletes the opportunity to have a successful experience and prep them for a lifetime of success and strength following graduation.
Since joining the Golden Eagle family, her and the coaching staff have built a strong foundation and developed a winning culture that has produced six consecutive trips to the PacWest Conference Tournament and 43 Academic All-PacWest selections. All this after the program won just two games only two years before her arrival.
Early in the 2024-25 season, Collins-Kiernan earned career win No. 100 as the leader of the women's basketball program. She brought a 104-103 overall record and has directed the Golden Eagles to a 82-54 mark in PacWest play. Guard Izzy Navarro became
the second CUI player under Collins-Kiernan to be named PacWest Freshman of the Year.
In a two year-span, three different CUI women's basketball players earned opportunities to play professionally overseas after earning their degrees. Before becoming an assistant coach at her alma mater, First Team All-Conference selection Jasmine Rachal
agreed to a contract for a team in France in 2023 and was named Female Athlete of the Year at the annual CUI Senior Legacy Banquet. Fellow teammate Katie Timmerman, who also joined the 1,000 point club that season, was also honored with the Female Golden Eagle Award and was a second round draft pick by Shinhan Bank in Korea where she holds dual citizenship. In their fifth and final season with Collins-Kiernan, that duo helped CUI earn its first two playoff victories in the PacWest Conference Tournament and make the championship game in March of 2023.
Under her guidance, Michaela VanderKlugt earned D2CCA All-American status and was named both PacWest Conference Player of the Year and D2CCA West Region Player of the Year after the 2021-22 campaign. VanderKlugt averaged a double-double (18.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg) in her final season and finished with the school record
and the PacWest Conference record for most career rebounds. VanderKlugt then became the
first CUI women's basketball player to sign a pro contract in the school's NCAA DII era by agreeing to play multiple seasons in Germany for BC Pharmaserv Marburg. She left CUI as the program's first student-athlete to collect 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds during her time in Irvine.
In the 2021-22 season, CUI won 17 games for the second time in three years and established itself as a perennial contender for the league crown while vying for a regional berth in the NCAA DII tournament. CUI beat Cal Poly Pomona for the first time in program history and also swept the season series with Point Loma for the first time. Rachal joined VanderKlugt in the 1,000 point club in a home win over Point Loma, and the trio of VanderKlugt, Rachal and Timmerman was All-PacWest.
During the 2019-20 season, the program finished third in the PacWest with a 15-7 league record. VanderKlugt became the first CUI women's basketball player to be named First Team All-Conference and also became the first player in program history to reach 1,000 career points in the NCAA DII era. Rachal was also named Second Team All-Conference for the first time.
In her first year as head coach, Collins-Kiernan guided the team to a 16-11 record and helped CUI secure its first trip to the PacWest Conference Tournament. Concordia finished in fourth place in the league with a 13-7 PacWest record. Among the conference highlights, Collins-Kiernan led CUI to the program's first-ever win over Hawai'i Pacific, a thrilling comeback win over Notre Dame de Namur and a statement victory over CBU. VanderKlugt was named PacWest Freshman of the Year.
Collins-Kiernan came to Concordia in the spring of 2017 after seven years as an assistant coach at California State University, Northridge. During her time at CSUN, she worked in all areas including recruiting, fundraising, scouting reports, team budget, academics and social media. While competing in the Big West Conference, the team produced two Big West Players of the Year, Three Big West Freshman of the Year, two NCAA tournament appearances and in 2012 they put together the best Division I turnaround in the nation.
Prior to her role at Northridge, she served as the assistant coach at high school power house, Mater Dei. From 2006 to 2010, Collins-Kiernan ran the booster club, developed camps, managed marketing and led community service and weekly faith based growth and motivation for the program. She helped transform a sub .500 team to a team who won 20 games and made it to the CIF Semi Finals. They went on to win two CIF Titles, two State Titles and one National Championship. The program produced the second Gatorade Player of the Year in school history and eight players who went on to play at the Division I level.
Collins-Kiernan also coached at Troy High School from 1996 to 2006. She received her degree in Communicative Disorders from Cal State Fullerton in 2006. She is married to Kevin Kiernan who served as the long-time head girls basketball coach at Mater Dei High School. They have four children: Brenden, Camryn, Devyn, and Kaidyn, and reside in Orange.
