Lauren Gosselin introduced as 11th head coach of women’s basketball program

On Thursday afternoon, Lauren Gosselin was officially introduced as the 11th head coach of the women’s basketball program, replacing outgoing head coach Carla Berube, who departed for Northwestern in March.

Gosselin was introduced on the court at Jadwin Gymnasium in front of her family, the women’s basketball team, and dozens of members of the athletics department, including fellow head coaches from across Princeton’s 38 varsity teams.

“This is a place that means so much to me, both professionally and personally,” Gosselin said. “I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to lead this program into its next chapter.”

Gosselin will be a first-time head coach at Old Nassau after spending seven years on Berube’s staff, the last three as associate head coach. Her appointment, which came just two weeks after Berube’s departure, followed what Director of Athletics John Mack ’00 described as a thorough national search that ended right where it started.

“We went around the nation and ended up down the hallway back here at Jadwin,” Mack said. “I could not be more thrilled to have Lauren stepping in as our head coach.”

During the press conference, Mack was candid about the pressure he felt following Berube’s exit.

“I kept having people saying, ‘You have to move quickly because you’re gonna have student athletes jumping in the portal if they don’t know who their coaches are.’” Mack said. 

“I said our student athletes, especially this team, have an uncommon commitment to this University and an uncommon commitment to each other, and that was evident throughout the season. So I was never worried about having to go so quickly at the risk of losing them.”

Mack later added that roster retention was not a deciding factor, saying that “you can’t make long-term decisions based on temporary circumstances” and that “the goal is to hire the best person, with an eye towards the long term.”

He described the criteria for the hire as threefold: character, a shared embrace of Princeton institutional values, and a demonstrated track record of winning. 

“It’s not just enough to understand Princeton to know that our academics-first commitment is not lip service,” Mack said. “You have to share that value, because you can be the best X’s and O’s coach in the world, but if you don’t fundamentally understand and embrace our values in the way that we live them out in the lives of our student athletes, this isn’t the place for you.”

Mack added that “we do things differently here at Princeton, but our recipe for success has been proven time and time again.”

Following the press conference, Mack said to reporters that he had been mentally preparing for this possible scenario long before Berube’s departure. When it was announced that longtime Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown was retiring, Mack — who had worked at Northwestern for five years and was in Evanston when McKeown was hired — began forming a contingency plan.

Mack said that Northwestern’s Vice President for Athletics and Recreation Mark Jackson reached out “towards the end of the season,” but did not provide a clear timeline of events. He also noted that Berube’s endorsement of Gosselin came immediately, and that over the past five years, he has received calls from various athletics directors about both Berube and Gosselin.

“She won’t say it, but I will say because it’s true, [Gosselin’s] had opportunities to leave Princeton over the last several years to be a head coach at a number of different places,” Mack said. “I’ve gotten tons of calls over the last five years about Berube; I’ve gotten just as many about Lauren Gosselin.”

When asked whether he was at all hesitant about hiring from within, Mack firmly said “no,” adding that Princeton has an “incredible track record over the last 10 years of promoting.” 

He pointed to women’s lacrosse head coach Jenn Cook, men’s track and field coach Jason Vigilante, and men’s wrestling head coach Joe Dubuque as successful examples of hiring within. 

“It’s not the goal when we start a search … but when you’ve been here, when you can speak to the experience, when you have demonstrated that you share our values, and when you’ve done good work that shows up in interviews in a lot of ways that people coming from the outside aren’t quite able to speak to as well,” Mack said, adding that credit should also be given to the head coaches who brought on the assistants. 

Thursday’s press conference also touched on the impact current players had throughout the hiring process. 

Mack said that within an hour of the players learning that Berube was leaving, several student-athletes were in his office vouching for Gosselin.

“They talked about the interpersonal relationship,” Mack said. “Her communication style really showed and demonstrated how much she cared [for] them. But they also talked about the times when she had to be really tough, which is rare for student-athletes to appreciate when a coach has to hold a line, has to hold them accountable.”

Mack said that while other student-athletes in similar situations have spoken highly of an assistant coach they liked, the players on the women’s basketball team were able to give concrete examples. 

“I’ve never been a head coach before, I understand that,” Gosselin said. “For them to have that trust and confidence to know that I could do it without ever seeing me do it … I hope that the confidence they instill in me, I [hope] can do the same, and I see what they’re capable of.” 

“All their journeys take different paths, but they’re capable of much more than they ever know. The same way that they believe that I’m much more capable than what I knew,” she continued.

Gosselin also acknowledged the three primary mentors who shaped her path. 

She credited her high school coach, Laney Clement-Holbrook, for instilling in her the importance of being part of something bigger than yourself. She pointed to Barbara Stevens, her college coach at Bentley and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, as the person who taught her how to prepare, stay humble, and win with class. Lastly, she thanked Berube. 

“I know I have big shoes to fill, but luckily, Carla and I are the same size, and I’m fortunate that she left a few pairs from her collection upstairs for me, and I promise to wear them well,” Gosselin said. 

Beyond X’s and O’s, Gosselin said that Berube modeled something even more important: balance.

“In this profession, where it certainly can consume you and become all-encompassing, she was able to show me that you can be successful and still have that balance and not stray from your value system,” Gosselin said. 

“You can know everything, but if you don’t have that relationship piece with your players, with the alumni, with our supporters, you’re not going to go very far,” she continued.

Gosselin also confirmed that she expects to retain all returning players and incoming first-year students. 

“We have such a strong group returning, a veteran squad, so I understand that the continuity piece will be key,” Gosselin said. “I don’t want to recreate the wheel. We have a system that works, and now it’s just enhancing that.”

“In a collegiate world that is becoming increasingly transactional, Princeton remains transformational,” she said. 

Furthermore, as first reported by The Daily Princetonian last week, Gosselin confirmed publicly that assistant coach Jordan Edwards is staying on the staff and will also be elevated to recruiting coordinator. 

“She understands this place, has such great relationships, and we’re going to build on that together, and that gives me great, I won’t say, flexibility, but the ability to not rush the hiring process [with the remainder of the staff],” Gosselin said. 

Gosselin will still need to fill two vacant assistant positions and the Director of Basketball Operations role vacated by Lilly Paro, who took on the same role at Northwestern.

The new era of Princeton women’s basketball is now officially underway as Gosselin will look to build on her predecessors and take the Tigers to greater heights.

“At the end of the day, this place challenges you, it stretches you, it demands more of you, and if you embrace that, you grow into something much bigger than you ever imagined,” Gosselin said.

“I am certainly one example of that, which is why it’s such an honor and a dream to be standing here today as your next head coach. I’m excited to get to work.”

Hayk Yengibaryan is a head News editor emeritus and senior Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Glendale, Calif. and typically covers breaking news and profiles. He can be reached at hy5161[at]princeton.edu.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.