OKLAHOMA CITY – The OCU women's basketball team has announced its 2023-24 coaching staff. Head women's basketball coach Kris Seigenthaler looks to bring OCU back to national dominance which entails that all aspects of the program are aligned in philosophy and training. Seigenthaler announces mentions, "This coaching staff has the drive, experience, and cohesion to lead a group of highly skilled and motivated players to the journey necessary to achieve our goals. I am excited to have fierce medical professionals and highly driven coaches that have the ability to train each student-athlete to be a leader on and off the hardwood."
Rachel Tapps: Assistant Coach
Tapps joins Kris Seigenthaler's staff as the top assistant coming over from MId-America Christian where Tapps played one season for the Evangels in 2019-20. Tapps playing career also consists of stints at the University of Texas El-Paso and Texas A&M Kingsville.
Last season, Tapps served as one of the official statisticians for the Sooner Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships hosted by MACU on Feb. 27-28, 2023, and also served as the statistician for the NAIA Men's Basketball Opening Round first round games hosted by Langston on Mar. 7, 2023.
During the spring and summer of 2020, Tapps served as an intern for the MACU Sports Information office, where she was tasked with website maintenance, updating student-athlete bios and upkeep of the MACU Athletics record books. Tapps served as the MACU men's and women's basketball color commentator for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.
The Houston native first came to MACU in the fall of 2019 to compete for women's basketball head coach Hannah Moeller, helping lead the Evangels to a 21-11 record and a fourth-straight bid to the NCCAA National Championships. Tapps finished the season with 211 points (6.6 ppg) while leading the team in assists with 115 (3.6 apg).
Tapps graduated from Mid-America Christian in May of 2020 with a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Media Communications and earned her Master's in Business Administration from MACU in May of 2023.
"Tapps has the intangibles to be an elite coach" Seigenthaler says. "She has competed inside the SAC and gets the caliber player that is going to get us back to National dominance."
Kennedi Simien: Assistant Coach
Simien is a current Putnam City West High School Assistant Girls' Basketball Coach where she also teaches aerobics and personal finance to seniors. In 2022-2023, Putnam City West girls advanced to the semifinals of the Oklahoma 6A State Tournament with a record of 23-5.
Simien competed and graduated from Cameron University in Lawton, OK with a bachelor's degree in Sports & Exercise Science. She also served as a Graduate Assistant for the Women's Basketball team under Head Coach Emma Andrews from 2018-2022 while pursuing her master's in organizational leadership.
In 2020 she relocated to the Oklahoma City area to coach with Below the Rim (BTR) AAU organization. BTR is the only AAU girls' team in Oklahoma on the Girl's Under Armour Association (UAA) Circuit.
Simien says, "I'm thrilled to be a part of the coaching staff here at OCU to learn and grow under Coach Seigenthaler! Since I've been on board, we've hit the ground running and accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. We plan to continue this momentum into the season and bring the program back to national dominance! I just want to thank Coach Seig and the OCU athletic department for this opportunity and to all the OCU staff for their warm welcomes."
"Simien brings a competitive high school coaching background and strong networking ties to Oklahoma City" Seigenthaler mentions. "She is highly competitive and driven to take us to an elite level."
Prince Bridges: Assistant Coach
Prince played high school basketball for the Classen Comets of Oklahoma City, where he was an AAU All-American and his team finished 3rd in the nation his junior year and won a State Championship his senior year.
The former State of Oklahoma "Player of the Year" attended the University of Missouri & played on a team ranked #1 in the nation. Prince finished his 3-year career at the University of Missouri at that time as the No. 3 all-time assist leader, two Big 8 regular season championships, a tournament championship, and three trips to the post season with two NCAA appearances, as a #1 seed with a trip to the Elite 8. Prince finished his collegiate career with a record of 100 wins and 30 losses.
Drafted by the Denver Nuggets of the NBA in 1984 he competed there and in the Continental Basketball Association.
After a 12-year career in Corporate America with State Farm Insurance, he started Bridging the Gap, a training program focused on fundamentals, skill development, scoring, offensive moves, and footwork.
Working in Texas, Missouri and Canada he has trained hundreds of Pros, Collegiate, All-City, All-Conference and All-State players.
Prince has learned and played for three Hall of Fame Coaches at the high school, college and professional levels. This background has been a unique, exciting, and sound experience for Prince.
Prince earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Education at the University of Missouri- Columbia. He is married to Bobbi Bridges, the Associate Head Softball coach for Oklahoma City University.
Bridges say "It feels like I've been part of Oklahoma City University family for a long time. From playing basketball in the gymnasium in high school, walking the campus, to watching a lot of the championship coaches' teams. I'm excited to work with Coach Seigenthaler, to help with the basketball training of the student-athletes and collaborating with the staff to make this years journey a success."
"Bridges has a wealth of experience and insight from his collegiate, pro, and training experience." Coach Seigenthaler mentions. "He brings a next level skill training mindset to our program."
Tashawna Edwards: Strength Coach
Edwards is a certified personal trainer that has been officially training for four years, specializing in muscle building, injury prevention, corrective exercise, functional training, and improving overall general fitness.
Edwards started out as a collegiate basketball coach at Lamar Community College followed by a stint at Eastern Oklahoma State College. Edwards was in charge of strength and conditioning of the women's basketball team at Lamar and Eastern Oklahoma State where the focus was formatted training regimens to assist players with optimizing their performance and preventing injuries.
Prior to that Edwards completed for Loyola University Chicago before transferring to Central Methodist and achieving two trips to the NAIA National Tournament and eclipsing a Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship. Edwards graduated from Central Methodist University with a Bachelor of Science in Sports Management.
Edwards mentions "As a former athlete myself once a part of a high caliber program, I'm so excited to join OCU women's basketball and be a part of their legacy. We are ONE!"
Seigenthaler says, "Having competed at Loyola Chicago and Central Methodist as an athlete, Edwards brings an elite collegiate basketball and strength training background and insight to our program. Her experience and ability to connect on the hardwood and in strength training is going to be huge factor going forward!!"
Kylee Warne: Athletic Trainer
Warne brings a load athletic training experience to OCU after serving as the Assistant Athletic Trainer at Southwestern Christian University from 2021 to 2023. Prior to working at SCU Warne was the head athletic trainer at Hennessey Public Schools from 2019-2021 all while serving as an apprentice athletic trainer at the University of Central Oklahoma in 2019.
Warne played soccer from 2012-2014 at Central Oklahoma before finishing her career at Southwestern Christian from 2014-2016.
Warne received a bachelor of science in sports management from Southwestern Christian in 2016 with a minor in theology. Warne went on to earn a masters of science in athletic training from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2019.
Warne says, "It has been a dream of mine to work at Oklahoma City University for as long as I remember. I am so excited to have the opportunity to work as an Athletic Trainer at OCU through SSM Health Bone & Joint. My ultimate goal is to ensure that all my athletes are healthy, safe, and competing to their highest potential. I look forward to building on the legacy that OCU already has!"
Head Coach Kris Seigenthaler mentions, "Warne brings a competitive athletic background and high level of athletic training experience. She has been an athletic trainer inside the SAC and understands how competitive this conference is. Warne's awareness of our national dominance and her ability to be tough and connect with our athletes is going to be huge!!"
Cody Commander: Clinical & Sport Psychologist
Dr. Cody Commander is a Clinical & Sport Psychologist, and a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) with the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). He is the owner of an interdisciplinary group private practice, Commander Counseling & Wellness. He is the former Director of Sport Psychology at the University of Oklahoma Athletics department, where he worked for 12 years.
Dr. Commander works with various professional athletes and organizations, Olympic athletes and teams, collegiate athletes and programs, and elite youth athletes. He consults with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and was the Mental Health Officer for Team USA for the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. He is a former Board Member of the Oklahoma Psychological Association and continues to serve in leadership positions in various professional organizations and frequently presents at national professional conferences.
Areas of clinical focus psychological testing, sport psychology, relational distress, anxiety disorders, ADHD, learning disorders, eating disorders, and trauma. His dissertation was on computerized cognitive training on individuals with ADHD and he continues to conduct assessment research on trauma disorders and Autism Spectrum Disorder. He is also the creator of Peregrine, an integrated report writing software for testing psychologists.
Dr. Commander received his doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from Wright State University and completed his doctoral internship at Ball State University Counseling Center. He received his master's degree in counseling psychology and bachelor's degree in psychology at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, where he played collegiate tennis and held leadership positions in several student organizations.
Commander says, "It is an honor to be a part of the coaching staff of the Oklahoma City University Women's Basketball program, where Coach Seigenthaler has made it clear the mental health of the student-athlete is an internal part of overall wellness and success of the program. I am excited to collaborate with the coaches and medical staff, ensuring the student-athletes have access to mental health and mental performance services. I am genuinely excited about this opportunity and am eager to support the student-athletes as they strive for excellence in their athletic and personal pursuits."
"I have extreme gratitude to have Cody inside our program!" Seigenthaler says. "He brings incredible experience coming from OU Athletics and understands the challenges that student-athletes experience each day. He is an integral part of our program as we prepare our student-athletes for these next stages in their journey!!"
Krissy Karr: Sports Psychologist
Karr joins OCU after spending time with the University of Oklahoma athletic department in 2022-23. Karr will obtain the duties of administering mental health screening to athletes prior to the start of their season; interpret results and educate athletes on areas of functioning that may be vulnerable to stressors.
Conduct meetings prior to competition to assist athletes in fine tuning mental performance skills.
Meet with coaches to plan for team services, run weekly team services to improve mental performance skills, attend practices and games, provide individual counseling, conduct drop-in services for individuals needing to discuss mental health concerns or performance-related concerns and finally consult with other members of support staff (i.e., athletic medicine, strength & conditioning, nutrition/dietitian, etc.) about student-athlete well-being.
Karr began her college basketball playing at the University of Idaho from 2011-13 before transferring to Westmont College and competing from 2014-16. While at the University of Idaho Karr was a First team All-Freshman selection in the Western Athletic Conference in 2012. At Westmont College Karr was a two-time All-American and the GSAC player of the year in 2016. After graduation Karr competed at the pro ranks for JET Terrassa in Spain during the 2017 season. Karr received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Westmont College prior to attending Azusa Pacific University where she earned a Masters and a Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology.
Excited to have Karr on board Coach Seigenthaler says, "Karr brings a high level of sports psychology background coming from OU. Having been an athlete and competitor against OCU back in 2014 and 2015, she understands the brand and the caliber athlete that we recruit."
