| Title: | Senior Woman Administrator / Women's Basketball Head Coach |
| Phone: | (503) 370-6132 |
| Email: | swadener@willamette.edu |
| Year: | 13th |
| Degree: | BS, Exercise and Movement Science, University of Oregon '94 |
| Degree: | MS, Master of Kinesiology, Behavioral Studies, Boise State University '10 |
| Office: | Sparks 218 |
The 2024-25 season marks Peg Swadener’s 13th year as head coach for Willamette Women’s Basketball. Under Swadener’s leadership, the Bearcats have experienced the most successful seasons in program history. The 2023-24 Bearcats won the NWC Regular Season Championship with a record of 14-2, and played in the NCAA National Tournament for the first time in program history. After wins over #5 Trinity and #10 Whitman in December of 2023, the Bearcats earned national recognition with their first-ever votes in the National Top 25. Entering the 2024-25 season, they sit at #30 in the nation, as recognized by “The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops Way-Too-Early Top 30 rankings.”
Distinguished as one of the premier D3 Coaches on the West Coast, Swadener has twice been named NWC Coach of the Year (2024, 2018), honored as the D3Hoops.com Regional Coach of the Year in 2018 and the D3Hoops.com National Coach of the Week in December of 2023.
Swadener joined Willamette after an impressive 15-year coaching career at several Division 1 Universities across the country, including Boise State (1997-02), Idaho State (2002-03), Oregon (03-06), and Princeton (2006-07). Most recently, she served as the Associate Head Coach at Portland State University (2007-12), where she played a pivotal role in securing two Big Sky Conference Championships and making two post season appearances, including an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2010-11.
She is renowned as a “player’s coach,” known for her exceptional ability to develop players and build authentic relationships with her student-athletes. Throughout her career, she has coached numerous All-Conference Players, Conference MVP’s, and WNBA Players.
As a collegiate athlete, Swadener played for the University of Oregon’s Women’s Basketball team from 1989-1993. She earned Pac-10 Academic Honors three times and was honored with the Centurion Award in 1992, recognizing her as one of the top 100 all-around students at the University of Oregon.
Swadener received a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise and Movement Science from the University of Oregon in June 1994. She later earned a Master of Science degree in Exercise and Sport Science, with an emphasis on Behavior Studies, from Boise State University in December 2010.
