Head Coaching Record
Keri Carollo enters her 21st season as head women's basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2022-23.
UW-Whitewater is coming off its fourth trip to the Final Four and second appearance in the national championship game during Carollo's tenure. UW-W finished as national runner-up after starting the tournament with five straight wins, including a thrilling overtime win against Smith (Mass.) in the Sweet 16, a victory against Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe UW-Oshkosh in the quarterfinals and a 55-51 triumph against Amherst (Mass.) in the national semifinals. The 2021-22 Warhawks finished with a 28-5 record and claimed the WIAC regular season championship. Carollo earned WIAC Coach of the Year, Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division III Public School Coach of the Year and D3hoops.com Region 9 Coach of the Year, and was named a finalist for Division III National Coach of the Year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
Carollo guided the Warhawks to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament semifinals in 2013 and 2014. UW-Whitewater finished as national runner-up in 2013 and in third place in 2014 to earn two of the four highest national finishes in program history. Carollo also led the team to a third-place finish in 2008, when the program made its first of seven consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
UW-Whitewater has won seven of the last 14 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season titles and had a 24-game WIAC regular season winning streak that spanned from 2012-14. The program has finished the season ranked in the D3hoops.com Top 25 in six of the last 10 years. Under Carollo's leadership, the Warhawks have earned 51 all-conference accolades, including 28 first team honors. Eight different players have been named All-America.
In 2008, Carollo led UW-Whitewater to its first WIAC championship since 1986, and the team earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, its first national postseason appearance since 1995. The Warhawks won their first three games by double digits before breaking through to the national semifinals for the first time since 1982 with an 83-80 victory over DePauw (Ind.). The team ended the season with a school-record 29 victories.
In 2009-10, Carollo was named WIAC Coach of the Year en route to leading the team to its first outright WIAC women's basketball championship at UW-Whitewater in more than 20 years.
In 2012-13, Carollo guided the Warhawks to their third NCAA semifinal appearance in school history. UW-Whitewater capped off the season with a runner-up finish in the NCAA Tournament, the best finish in program history. The team reached the championship game with a thrilling 64-62 overtime victory over Amherst (Mass.). Guard Mary Merg tied the game with a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded in regulation, then gave the Warhawks the lead for good in the final second of overtime with a jumper in the lane. The two plays were picked up by ESPN's SportsCenter, which ran the highlights during its Top 10 segment that night. Carollo was named D3hoops.com Central Region Coach of the Year following the season.
The Warhawks returned to the national semifinals in 2013-14, earning a third-place finish with a 74-52 triumph over Tufts (Mass.). UW-Whitewater capped the season with a 27-5 mark, including a 16-0 league record, and Carollo was named WIAC Coach of the Year following the unbeaten league campaign. The Warhawks finished among the top 15 in the nation in free throw percentage, scoring offense, 3-point percentage and turnover margin.
In 2015-16, Carollo guided the Warhawks to their eighth NCAA Tournament bid in the last nine seasons, and the program's sixth trip to the second round during that span. UW-Whitewater finished the non-conference season unbeaten for the first time since the 2007-08 season and won its first 12 games of the year.
In 2017-18, UW-Whitewater swept the WIAC regular season and tournament titles for the first time in program history. Carollo was selected WIAC Coach of the Year for the third time in her career and Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division III Women's Coach of the Year for the third time. She earned her 300th career victory on Jan. 3, when the Warhawks downed No. 3 UW-Oshkosh 54-52 on a buzzer-beating jumper by Camri Conley.
In 2018-19, the team reached the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in the last 12 years.
Carollo was named WIAC Coach of the Year in 2019-20 after leading the Warhawks to the regular season conference championship and hosting privileges for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Carollo played basketball for four years at NCAA Division II Humboldt State University in Arcata, Calif., and was a three-year starter. She was named All-Northern California Athletic Conference team her senior year. Carollo graduated on the school's list of highest 3-point field goal percentage and ranked third in the nation in that category during her senior season.
Carollo graduated from Humboldt with a bachelor's in sport/recreation management. She received her master’s in exercise and sports science/sports administration from University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where she was a graduate assistant coach for two years.
After her stint in La Crosse, she moved on to the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where she was an assistant coach (1999-01) and associate head coach (2001-02). While at Stout, the team ranked in the top three of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference during each season and won a conference championship in the 2001-02 season.
Carollo was born and raised in Miranda, Calif., with her two sisters, Keta and Megan. Gary and Ruthanne Rocha, Carollo's parents, still reside in Miranda and are retired school teachers. Carollo is married to Joe Carollo and the couple has three children. Their daughter, Kacie Elizabeth, was born in 2003, their son, Matthew Gary, was born in 2008, and their son, Tyler James, was born in 2010.
Email Coach Carollo: carollok@uww.edu
Call Coach Carollo: 262-472-5782
Mail something to Coach Carollo:
800 W Main Street
137 Williams Center
Whitewater, WI 53190
QUICK FACTS ABOUT COACH CAROLLO
Previous Coaching Experience
2001-2002: University of Wisconsin-Stout, Associate Head Basketball Coach
1999-2001: University of Wisconsin-Stout, Assistant Basketball Coach
1997-1999: University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Graduate Assistant Basketball Coach
1996-1997: Arcata High School, Arcata, CA Head Freshman Girls Basketball Coach
Playing Career
1992-1996: Humboldt State University, 3 year starter, all-conference senior year, 1995 NCAC Conference Champions, NCAA Tournament Qualifier
1988-1992: South Fork High School basketball team, 1 year JV, 3 year varsity starter, 2 time all-conference
Education
1999: Masters of Science, Exercise and Sports Science, Sports Administration, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
1997: Bachelor of Arts-Liberal Studies and Recreation Administration, Humboldt State University
1992: Graduated from South Fork High School, Miranda, California
Honors
2008, 2014, 2018, 2022: Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division III Women's Coach of the Year
2008: WBCA All-Star Banquet speaker summer
2008: WBCA Fall Clinic Speaker
2010, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2022: WIAC Coach of the Year
2013, 2022: D3hoops.com Region Coach of the Year
Family
Married to Joseph Anthony Carollo
Three children: Kacie Elizabeth (born 2003), Matthew Gary (born 2008), Tyler James (born 2010)
Keri Carollo's record against WIAC opponents:
UW-Eau Claire: 28-20
UW-La Crosse: 33-10
UW-Oshkosh: 30-23
UW-Platteville: 33-11
UW-River Falls: 30-10
UW-Stevens Point: 22-24
UW-Stout: 31-13
UW-Superior: 25-4 (left conference following 2014-15 season)
(updated June 28, 2022)
