Jul. 15—Former Kokomo Wildkat basketball standout Anastacia Kirby has been named the Purdue women's basketball team's new director of operations, the university announced this week.
Kirby, a 2013 Kokomo graduate, played collegiately at Marian University and has been working at Marian since then. She follows former Marian coach Katie Gearlds to Purdue. Gearlds took over as Purdue's coach just prior to the start of last season and was Kirby's coach at Marian.
"I'm so excited to have Kirb join our team," Gearlds said in a Purdue release. "She was the consummate team player at Marian, where we were part of two nattys together. My proudest moment was watching her give the commencement speech at her graduation. There's no doubt in my mind she's going to help elevate our program while bringing that team-first championship mentality."
Kirby played at Marian from 2013-17 and was a key member of the Knight's back-to-back NAIA Division II national championships her junior and senior seasons. In each of those championship games, she was the game's high rebounder, taking 13 in the title game victory as a junior, and posting a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards in the championship her senior year. She was All-Crossroads League honorable mention as a senior in 2017.
"I am so excited for the opportunity to be part of the Purdue women's basketball staff," Kirby said in Purdue's release. "Katie was an amazing coach, and always emphasized the importance of teamwork, so it'll be great to be back in that kind of environment as a part of her staff, with her as my boss and mentor. A huge thank you to the Purdue family for welcoming me with open arms."
Kirby was assistant director for annual giving and alumni engagement at Marian in the 2017-18 school year. From 2018-22 she worked as an athletic success coach at Marian, with involvement in class registration, academic guidance and assisting the Student-Athletic Advisory Committee. She also taught a college readiness course for incoming students.
At Kokomo, Kirby was a standout post player who excelled at gritty work. She was a first-team Kokomo Tribune All-Area player her junior and senior seasons.
Kirby joins a Purdue program that went 17-15 and reached the Women's NIT last season in Gearlds' first season in charge. Purdue's squad features former Northwestern High School star Madison Layden, who will be a junior this fall.