Kierra McCleary enters her second season at Western Illinois in 2014-15 after a successful inaugural campaign.
In her first year, McCleary assisted in the coaching of three All-Summit League selections, one All-Newcomer Team and All-Tournament Team recipient, including the program's first-ever CoSIDA Academic All-America honoree, Ashley Luke. 2013-14 was the first time WIU had three All-League honorees since 2003-04, as Luke (First Team) was joined by Tori Niemann and Michelle Maher (Honorable Mention).
McCleary helped Western Illinois to a record 2,392 points in 2013-14, as the Leathernecks also broke the 15-year-old program record for field goals made by 80, totaling 846 in the 2013-14 campaign.
Additionally, WIU's 2013-14 season was highlighted by several other marks that rank second in Western's history, including scoring average (79.7), field-goal percentage (45.3 percent), 3-pointers made (220) and free throws made (480).
During a season in which Western Illinois defeated opponents from the Horizon League, Conference USA, the Ohio Valley Conference, the Atlantic 10 and the WAC, the Leathernecks finished 14-16 for the second straight year and posted their highest finish in the Summit League since 2007-08.
McCleary came to Western Illinois in 2013-14 after a one-year stint as an assistant coach at Lewis University, where she helped the Flyers to a 24-6 record and berth into the NCAA Tournament.
She assisted the Flyers to the best turnaround in Division II, after the Flyers went 8-20 in 2011-12 before McCleary's arrival.
A three-time captain as a student-athlete at North Alabama, McClearly capped off her four-year playing career with a 2010-11 Gulf South Conference Tournament Championship and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1994, as the team finished 21-7 and a perfect 12-0 conference mark.
Off the court, McCleary was the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President at UNA, serves as a Spread Your Wings participant, and coordinated PinkZone efforts from 2007-11 to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research.
She graduated with a degree in Business Administration from North Alabama in 2011.
