Kristen Dowling, who previously served as a graduate assistant and an assistant coach in previous stops at Pepperdine, is in her fourth season as head coach of the program in 2022-23.
After three seasons, her record with the Waves is 29-50. Her career record after 10 years as a head coach is 176-96 (.647).
Over her first three seasons, the Waves have produced two All-WCC selections, two WCC All-Freshman team picks and one WCC All-Tournament team member.
Dowling posted a 147-46 (.762) record over seven seasons as the head coach of Division III Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, including six straight 20-win seasons and at least a share of six consecutive SCIAC regular-season championships. The Athenas won the SCIAC Tournament four consecutive years between 2014 and 2017 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament each time.
“I am elated to lead the Pepperdine women’s basketball program,” said Dowling at the time of her hiring in July 2019. “I want to thank President Benton, President-Elect Gash, Steve Potts and Karina Herold for entrusting me with the leadership of this program. Pepperdine’s Christian mission and commitment to academic and athletic excellence are core to who I am, and makes this an absolute dream come true. I am excited to get to know the current team, compete with purpose and build upon their success. The future of Pepperdine women’s basketball is incredibly bright.”
“Pepperdine Athletics exists to further our institution’s Christian mission, to provide an enriching, rewarding experience for our student-athletes that results in graduation, and to compete for championships,” said Pepperdine Director of Athletics Dr. Steve Potts at the time of Dowling’s hiring. “Kristen Dowling gives us a perfect fit for those objectives. She brings a strong Christian faith, a true commitment to our student-athlete’s well-being as a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Redlands, and is dedicated to building a championship-caliber women’s basketball program. We are excited to have Kristen leading our women’s basketball program for many years to come.”
Dowling’s first team at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps posted a 9-16 record in 2012-13, but she turned the program around quickly and recorded a school-record 24 wins in 2013-14. The Athenas hit 24 two more times since then and had at least 23 wins in five of the last six seasons. She led Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to its first NCAA Tournament victory in 2016, and the Athenas again won a first-round game in 2017.
Dowling was named SCIAC Coach of the Year in 2015. Over seven years, she posted a 93-19 (.830) record in conference play, with a remarkable 88-8 (.917) record the past six seasons. Her student-athletes won two SCIAC Player of the Year awards and were named to the All-SCIAC first team 10 times.
This is Dowling’s third stint at Pepperdine. She was a graduate assistant and academic advisor during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, then returned as an assistant coach for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 campaigns, all under former head coach Julie Rousseau. The Waves went 32-27 during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, and placed third in the West Coast Conference in 2011 and advanced to the WNIT.
In between those two stays at Pepperdine, Dowling worked as an assistant coach at CSU Bakersfield for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. The Roadrunners went 35-23 those two years and made their first-ever Division I postseason appearance in the 2010 Women’s Basketball Invitational.
Dowling is a 2004 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Redlands, earning a bachelor’s degree in Spanish with a minor in physical education. As a student-athlete, she helped the Bulldogs to their second-ever SCIAC title in 2004 and a WBCA Class Act Achievement Award.
Dowling also earned a master’s degree from Pepperdine in educational technology in 2007.
She is a graduate of Nike’s “So You Want to Be a Coach” program, as well as the NCAA Women’s Coaches Academy. In 2018, she served as an on-court coach for the USA Basketball U17 World Cup Team Trials.
