The Journey: Jon Plefka's move to UMass Lowell checks every box

On3’s Talia Goodman is showcasing women’s college basketball coaches taking over at new schools. This is the third edition of year two of the series – in which we’ll take a deeper look at some of the 60-plus coaches who took over new programs during a turbulent offseason. This time we learn more about Jon Plefka, the new head coach at UMass Lowell.

Jon Plefka bio

HOMETOWN: New Britain, CT
EXPERIENCE: 2024–25: Stony Brook (assistant), 2023-24: Auburn Montgomery (head coach), 2017-23: Post University (head coach), 2016-17: Post University (assistant)
PLAYED: Texas Tech (under Bob Knight)

Why UMass Lowell?

For Plefka, the move to UMass Lowell checks every box: family, fit and the opportunity to be a Division I head coach.

“My wife grew up in Harvard, and I’m from Connecticut – about two hours from Lowell,” he said. “So to come back closer to home with my family…We have twins who are 10 months now, so coming back closer to home was a huge piece.”

Being from the Northeast, Plefka admires both Lowell as a program and a city. 

“I’ve always known about Lowell,” Plefka said. “It’s a hardworking, blue-collar town. It’s similar to where I grew up in New Britain. The opportunity to be a Division I head coach has always been a huge goal of mine.”

When Plefka started the job on May 5, the challenges began. Putting together a roster in the transfer portal era is hard enough, but in early May, the options were getting slim.

“The ‘top tier’ were gone,” Plefka said. “Even the middle tier, those that were role players, were mostly gone at that point too. It was being creative… constant research, constant calls and connections…We had eight great returners, but we had to fill seven spots, and we opted in – so we’re at the cap of 15. I think we did a pretty darn good job of filling this roster with high-character, high-quality student-athletes.”

Plefka’s coaching style and mindset

Plefka credits his stops – Texas Tech as a player, his Division II head coaching jobs and Stony Brook as an assistant – with shaping how he’ll run Lowell.

“Learning from Coach [Bob] Knight, the preparation is so very important. Details are important…Honestly, last year at Stony Brook, taking a step back and focusing on individual pieces more so than the whole picture was huge. At the Division II level, you’re the jack-of-all-trades. You have to do everything from academic advising, driving the vans, budgeting, apparel. I’m so thankful for those experiences that helped me a lot in these first 60 or so days.”

The culture Plefka hopes to bring to UMass Lowell is about far more than winning. The lessons he learned from Knight have helped shape his view on the culture he’s instilling.

“Loving on your student-athletes and showing you really do care outside of basketball is really what I saw…,” Plefka said. “The team always comes first – I learned that from Coach too. We may not be the most talented, but we’re going to be the most prepared.”

On the court, Plefka plans to run a fast-paced offense. 

“Everyone says, ‘we’re going to play fast,’” Plefka said. “We want to play fast too, but with structure. Offensively, I think we’re going to be a spread out team, whether that’s four-out or five-out…I’m not necessarily a rigid ‘system’ coach like we were with Coach Knight…We’ll do aggressive man-to-man as well, but it’s really how we feel as a staff, how we can progress and how our players fit together.”

The staples, though, will be the same.

 “Hard-working, hard-nosed, doing the little things and maximizing the value we have on the floor,” he said.

Something you may not know about Plefka

When he’s not watching film, Plefka is still often found in front of a screen.

“I enjoy wrestling,” Plefka said. “I grew up on it… As a kid, wrestling was larger than life, like superheroes…I’m also a Boston sports fan through and through. I inherited Patriots season tickets from my wife’s family.”