COLUMBIA, Mo. – Stephens College named Joshua Steffen as the next head basketball coach, announced Vice President of Student Development and Interim Athletics Director Vicky Owles.
"We are so excited to have Josh join our coaching staff here at Stephens College," commented Owles. "His love of coaching and desire to see our student-athletes perform in the classroom and on the courts was evident when we interviewed him. We know that he will bring his enthusiasm and talents to our women's basketball team and take our team to the next level."
Steffen comes to Stephens with 11 years of collegiate coaching experience and 17 combined years of head coaching experience.
"I could not be more humbled and honored to be chosen as the Head Basketball Coach at Stephens College," stated Steffen. "My wife Lindsay and I could not be more excited to join the Stephens Community. I want to thank Adam Samson (former AD) and Dr. Vicky Owles for granting me this opportunity. Stephens is a very special institution with an amazing tradition and we will strive to produce student athletes and citizens that make the Stephens Community proud on and off of the court."
Steffen spent six seasons at the helm of the Concordia University Chicago women's basketball program. During his CUC tenure, he ranked fifth in all-time wins and set a school record win streak during the 2006-07 season. His team also appeared in the 2012 and 2013 Northern Athletics Conference (now known as Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference) Women's Basketball Tournaments.
Prior to CUC, Steffen spent six seasons at Concordia University Ann Arbor and served as head coach for 4.5 years. The team set a school record for conference wins in the 2007-08 season, the same season Steffen was tabbed the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Coach of Character.
While coaching at the collegiate level, Steffen has also served in various roles such as an Assistant Sports Information Director, an Athletic Recruiting Coordinator, an Admissions Counselor and a Student-Athlete Advisory Council Faculty Representative.
Most recently, Steffen served as an Admissions Director and Varsity Boys' Basketball Coach at Living Word Lutheran High School. During his time there, the basketball program enjoyed the greatest four-year period in program history. This includes school records in wins and conference wins during the 2017-18 season while advancing to the school's second regional championship game at the conclusion of the 2016-17 season. In Steffen's four years as admissions director, enrollment nearly doubled at Living Word.
Steffen was a four-year basketball player at Wisconsin Lutheran College where he earned his Bachelor's degree in communication. He then earned his Master's in sports science from the United States Sports Academy.
