Michigan State has hired Robyn Fralick to be MSU's new women's basketball head coach. The news was first reported by the Toledo Blade's Dave Briggs and has since been confirmed by Michigan State.
Fralick, an Okemos, Michigan native, is the sixth head coach in program history and arrives in East Lansing following four seasons at Bowling Green State University.
Fralick succeeds Suzy Merchant, who mutually parted ways with the Spartans on March 13 after 16 seasons at the helm. Fralick also played basketball with former MSU assistant coach Kristin Haynie growing up, with Fralick earning All-State honors in her final two seasons of high school. Haynie has since left MSU following Merchant's departure to take an assistant job with the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx.
"This is a great day for Spartan women's basketball as we welcome Robyn Fralick to our Spartan Family," Michigan State Athletic Director Alan Haller said in a statement. "Her resume speaks for itself, both in the historic success and championships she captured at Ashland and the job she did turning around the program at Bowling Green, not only capturing a championship but also creating an expectation of postseason success. Beyond that, Robyn possesses the ability to connect individually with student-athletes in order to maximize their abilities, while also bringing everyone together to create team success.
"Although she grew up in our community and we couldn't be more excited to bring her home, it's important to note that she's respected nationally. That became evidently clear throughout this process during conversations with individuals throughout the women's basketball community.
"Michigan State women's basketball is a program with a strong foundation both within our department and our community. I'm excited to watch Robyn and her team compete at the Big Ten and national level as the program continues to grow."
Fralick arrives in East Lansing after head coaching stints at Ashland University at the Division II level and Bowling Green State University. Fralick guided Bowling Green to a Fab Four appearance in the WNIT this past season, exiting the postseason tournament on Wednesday evening with a 77-70 loss to Columbia. The Falcons defeated Liberty, Green Bay, Memphis and Florida en route to the Fab Four, though only Green Bay was an away game. The semifinal appearance was the farthest the program has made it in the WNIT.
BGSU finished the season 31-7 overall and 14-4 in the Mid-American Conference, tied for second in the final standings. BGSU advanced to the MAC Tournament championship game before losing 73-58 to Toledo. The 31 victories tied a MAC record for most in a season and was the first time a program posted that many since 2006-2007.
Michigan State and Bowling Green featured mutual opponents this season in Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Detroit-Mercy and Indiana. The Falcons went 5-1 against those opponents, only losing to Indiana.
"My family and I are so grateful for this new journey," Fralick said. "It is an honor to return home to East Lansing to join the Spartan community.
"I would like to thank the Bowling Green community for wrapping their arms around my family and the BGSU women's basketball squad for giving their best, every day.
"Thank you to Alan Haller and the hiring committee at Michigan State for this amazing opportunity. Spartan women's basketball has great tradition and an extremely loyal and supportive fan base. It's truly one of the elite programs in the Big Ten and the country, with everything that's necessary to develop student-athletes and compete at the highest level. We will work tirelessly to pursue excellence on and off the court and build a culture and team built on togetherness and toughness. We're excited to get to work!"
Fralick will look to build on her prior success at Ashland and Bowling Green as she begins her tenure in East Lansing. The Spartans are in a strong position overall, but have fallen off from the highs of prior years. Michigan State still had 10 NCAA appearances during Merchant's tenure, fourth-most in the conference.
Despite that success in bids, MSU has not advanced out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2009 and has won just two regular season Big Ten titles in the past 15 seasons in 2011 and 2014. The Spartans have finished in the upper half of the league standings just three times since then, though the Spartans did not have a single losing season in the overall schedule under Merchant.
Michigan State has seen two players enter the transfer portal since Merchant's departure. Guard/forward and 3-point-shooting specialist Matilda Ekh and center Brooklyn Rewers have not announced any selection for a new school to date, however.
Fralick rebuilt BGSU during her tenure with the Falcons. Over the six-year span before her arrival, Bowling Green went a combined 20-88 in conference play. Fralick finished with a 43-49 mark in league play, but went 14-4, 10-10 and 14-4 over her final three seasons, including a MAC regular season title in 2021. Fralick was named the MAC Coach of the Year in 2021.
During her tenure at BGSU, Fralick faced Michigan State just once. In her first season, the Falcons lost 99-69 in East Lansing on Nov. 6, 2018.
Before Bowling Green, Fralick spent three seasons as the head coach at Ashland University. While with the Eagles, Fralick earned the highest winning percentage (.972) in NCAA history at any level of women's basketball with a 104-3 record.
After starting 31-2 in her first season and advancing to the NCAA Division II regional semifinals, Fralick's team went 37-0 the next season and won the NCAA Division II national championship.
The Eagles went on to win a record 73-straight victories dating back to the 2016-2017 season through the 2017-2018 season up until the Division II national championship, falling just short with a runner-up title finish. Fralick won three-straight GLIAC regular season and tournament championships during her tenure. She was also named the GLIAC Coach of the Year in her first season, and earned WBCA Coach of the Year honors in her second and third seasons.
Fralick started her coaching career as an assistant with Appalachian State for the 2004-2005 season, was the Director of Operations at Western Michigan from 2005-2007, an assistant at Toledo from 2007-2008 and an assistant at Ashland from 2008-2015 before she assumed the role of head coach.
Fralick spent four seasons playing at Davidson (2000-2004), finishing her career ranked fourth in career assists, eighth in career steals and 12th in career free-throw percentage. Fralick played in 114 games and started 64 contests for the Wildcats.
She graduated with her degree in psychology with a minor in religion before going on to earn her master's degree in counselor education from Western Michigan in 2007.
Fralick is married to her husband Tim, and they have two children, Will and Clara.
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