Zach Kancher Named Assistant WBB Coach
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Head women’s basketball coach Katie Meier has announced the hiring of Zach Kancher as the newest assistant coach for the University of Miami women’s basketball team.
Highly regarded within college basketball circles, Kancher comes to Coral Gables with over a decade of experience ranging from the high school level to the highest level of Division I women’s basketball.
“Zach is an absolutely tremendous hire for us,” Meier said. “I felt very challenged trying to find a coach to replace Carolyn Kieger. It was a very big hire for our program. The challenge was to find high basketball IQ with a tenacious personality and a great court demeanor—and I think we found all of that in Zach. I also think he’s going to help us recruit the northeast, which he’s done for many years. His track record as a head coach and his proven success going to the Final Four with Maryland, he really adds a lot to our program and it’s something that we are very excited about. I have so much respect for Coach Frese and the Maryland staff and that’s a big reason why Zach was at the top of our list.”
Kancher has spent the previous three seasons (2011-14) as the Director of Scouting and Player Development for the University of Maryland, where he helped the Terrapins reach the NCAA Sweet 16 or beyond each year.
“I’m extremely grateful to Coach Meier for granting me this opportunity to become a Hurricane,” Kancher said. “She runs a first-rate program that has won an ACC Championship in the last five years. The ACC is a fantastic league for women’s basketball and Miami has proven to be a perennial championship contender. I can’t express how fortunate I’ve been to have learned from Coach Frese at Maryland and the experience I’ve had in the past three years—reaching a Final Four and winning an ACC Championship. I will hopefully be able to replicate that success at Miami, and I couldn’t be any more excited.”
In his role under head coach Brenda Frese, Kancher was responsible for scouting report generation of opponents including full breakdowns and analysis, analytics, and personnel tendencies.
“Miami made a terrific hire in Zach,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said. “He will have an instant impact on their program like he did ours. He’s a dynamic guy who is really passionate about the game and life in general. We are really proud of what he did here at Maryland and look forward to seeing him grow in his role at Miami.”
Prior to his time in College Mark, Md., Kancher coached three seasons as the top assistant at Division II Goldey-Beacom College, and in his final two years also took on the role of recruiting coordinator while guiding the Lightning to a CACC Championship and NCAA tournament appearance.
His first stop in the collegiate ranks came at the Division III College of Mount Saint Vincent, where he was the head coach and assistant athletic director for operations and facilities. In his lone season at Mount Saint Vincent, Kancher led his team to the ECAC-Metro Quaterfinals, to the Skyline Conference Semifinals, and to the Hudson Valley Athletic Conference Championship.
In his first coaching stop, Kancher spent four seasons at The Shipley School, spending two as the assistant boys coach and two as the head varsity coach. In 2006-07, The Shipley School went 22-6 under Kancher with appearances in the Pennsylvania Independent School Finals and the Friends School League Finals.
Kancher spent his undergraduate years as a practice player for the women’s basketball team at The George Washington University from 1999-2003, while earning his bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in creative writing.
Currently, Kancher is working towards his master’s degree in sport administration from Canisius College.
For more information on the women’s basketball team, follow @MiamiWBB on Twitter.
