Notre Dame women’s basketball fills out coaching staff with Irish alumna Charel Allen
The 2022-23 Notre Dame women’s basketball coaching staff is complete. Head coach Niele Ivey went with a familiar face to fill it out.
The program announced the hire of Fighting Irish alumna Charel Allen on Wednesday. Allen graduated from Notre Dame in 2008. She was a two-time All-American and two-time first-team All-Big East selection as well as a team captain in her final two seasons. Allen averaged 17.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game as a junior, both of which were team highs.
Ivey was a Notre Dame assistant during Allen’s senior season, when Allen scored a career-high 35 points in an NCAA Tournament victory over Oklahoma. That still stands as the second-highest individual scoring output in Notre Dame women’s basketball NCAA Tournament history.
Allen joins Notre Dame associate head coach Carol Owens and assistant coach Michaela Mabrey on Ivey’s staff. She’s replacing fellow Notre Dame alumna Coquese Washington, who left this offseason to become the head coach at Rutgers. Notre Dame had been without a third full-time assistant since May 23 when news broke of Washington’s departure after cutting her second stint as an Irish assistant short at two seasons.
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“Excited to welcome Charel back to the Notre Dame family,” Ivey said in a statement. “Charel brings a high-level mentality that leads to great player development. She possesses experience at every level – collegiately, professionally and internationally. She’s a rising star in this industry. She’s extremely passionate and loyal and understands what it takes to excel as a student-athlete at Notre Dame.”
Allen spent one season in the WNBA before playing overseas in Bulgaria for eight years. She was a five-time Bulgarian League champion as well as a four-time All-Bulgarian League First Team honoree. She was the league’s Player of the Year in 2014.
A professional playing career that lasted nearly a decade gave way to a coaching career that began at Cal State Fullerton in 2017. Allen was promoted to associate head coach there in 2021. Now, it’s time for the Monessen, Pa., native to head back to the Midwest.
“I’m coming home,” Allen said in a statement. “I’m extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity to work alongside such a powerful leader in Niele and her staff. I can’t wait to get started.”
