Kirsten Hammer

Kirsten Hammer

Kirsten Hammer became the fourth head coach in the history of Millikin women’s basketball prior to the 2024-25 season.
 
Hammer joined Millikin after spending five seasons on the staff at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Hammer joined the Warhawk staff in 2019 as an assistant coach and served as Whitewater's associate head coach the last two seasons. She also served as a lecturer in UW-Whitewater's Department of Health, Human Performance, Recreation and Coaching.
 
In 2023-24, Hammer helped guide the Warhawks to a 25-5 record. UW-Whitewater went 3-1 in the NCAA Tournament before losing in the round of eight. Hammer is knowledgeable about the current Millikin program with the Big Blue playing four games at Whitewater in the last two seasons. Millikin played two games in the NCAA Tournament at Whitewater in 2023-24 earning a win over Willamette before falling to the Warhawks 89-65. UW-Whitewater posted a win over the Big Blue in 2022-23 in an early season tournament.
 
As the associate head coach under Keri Carollo for three seasons, Hammer coached three NCAA Tournament teams including appearances in the national championship game, the elite eight and the final 16. She coached the 2024 Jostens Trophy winner, two All-Americans and the three-time WIAC Player of the Year.
 
Hammer was a Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) 30 under 30 honoree in 2022.
 
In 2018-19, Hammer was an assistant coach at Muskingum University in New Concord, Ohio. She was named as Interim Head Coach from March to May in 2019 serving in that role until a permanent head coach was announced in early May.
 
Hammer played two seasons (2012-14) at UW-Whitewater and was a student assistant coach for her final two years as an undergraduate (2014-16). The team made back-to-back trips to the Final Four and earned consecutive WIAC championships in 2013 and 2014, and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2016. Hammer  served as a graduate assistant coach for the Warhawks from 2016-18, helping the team win back-to-back Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament titles. The Warhawks swept the WIAC regular season and tournament championships and hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in 2017-18, when Hammer was part of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Women's College Coaching Staff of the Year.
 
Hammer earned a bachelor's degree in physical education (health, human performance and recreation) with a minor in business management in 2016. She received her master's in professional development (athletic administration) from UW-Whitewater in 2018. Following graduation, Hammer served as a video coordinator and basketball operations intern with the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in the summer of 2016.