Holli Howard-Carpenter is entering her third season as the Associate Head Coach for Cal State East Bay in 2012-13. A former player for the Pioneers, Howard-Carpenter arrived from Chico State where she spent the four years as an assistant coach for the Wildcats.
In her second campaign with Cal State East Bay, Howard-Carpenter helped guide the Pioneers to their first-ever CCAA postseason appearance, where they fell to eventual champion Cal State Monterey Bay, 46-43, in a closely contested game on the road. During the 2011-12 campaign, the team also garnered its second CCAA Freshman of the Year honors, as Micah Walker joined teammate Lauren Lucchesi as the second Pioneer to collect the award in three years. With Howard-Carpenter’s help, the team also tripled its win total from the previous season and posted its best record since 2007-08. In addition, the Pioneers saw Marlene MacMillan garner the program’s first All-CCAA honors, earning a spot on the second team.
The Pioneers also found success in the classroom in 2011-12, earning the No. 24 spot on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division II Academic Team Honor Roll. As a team, East Bay compiled a 3.43 grade-point average and was the only CCAA squad to earn a spot in the Academic Team Honor Roll. In addition, the team doubled its presence on the CCAA All-Academic Honor Roll, collecting six awards.
During her first season on the sidelines for the Pioneers, Howard-Carpenter helped the team double its win total from the 2009-10 season, earning victories over four CCAA programs along the way. Howard-Carpenter also guided three East Bay players to CCAA All-Academic honors in 2010-11.
During her tenure at Chico State, Howard-Carpenter helped guide the Wildcats to four CCAA Tournament appearances and three NCAA Tournament berths, including two trips to the Division II Sweet 16. In her second season on the sideline, Chico State captured both the CCAA Tournament and regular season titles, while the Wildcats have posted a 91-34 overall record and a 62-22 mark in conference play under her watch.
In addition to her regular coaching duties, Howard-Carpenter also served as the Wildcats' recruiting coordinator, academic liaison, camp coordinator, film coordinator and director of alumni and community relations.
Prior to her arrival at Chico State, Howard-Carpenter spent four years teaching and coaching high school basketball at Orland High School (2002-04) and Willows High School (2004-06). She also has extensive experience as a coach and counselor at girls' basketball camps, spending five summers at camps at Snow Valley Camp in Santa Barbara and the College of the Siskiyous in Weed, Calif.
An Academic All-American at Cal State East Bay, Howard-Carpenter still holds the Pioneer record for three-pointers both in a game (7) and ranks fifth in career threes (88). During her two seasons in Hayward, Howard-Carpenter served as team captain, earned California Pacific Conference Honorable Mention honors and was voted as the team's Most Inspirational. Howard-Carpenter also served as a resident assistant in student housing as a senior at East Bay.
Howard-Carpenter also played two seasons of softball for the Pioneers and two seasons at the College of the Siskiyous, where she earned first-team all-conference honors as a team captain. The standout athlete also played three seasons with the Redding Rage of the Independent Women's Football League, earning two Most Valuable Player awards and Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Howard-Carpenter is a 2012 graduate of the NCAA Women Coaches Academy and a member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and the Alliance of Women Coaches. She also attended the NCAA Women's Leadership Symposium in Sacramento in the spring of 2011.
A 2002 graduate of Cal State Hayward, Howard-Carpenter earned her bachelor's degree in history before going on to complete her master's in kinesiology at Chico State in 2008.
