K-State Sports
MANHATTAN – Kansas State women’s basketball Associate Head Coach Brian Ostermann has been named the head women’s basketball coach at Emporia State.
“My time at K-State must begin with a thank you to the K-State family! Thank you to all the coaches and administrators that number too many to name them all. I never dreamed of recruiting and coaching some the of greatest players in K-State history, too many to name but must mention a very special one in Ayoka Lee.
The friendships made along the way are special and I will carry all of those with me to Emporia State. Friendships are for a lifetime and I am grateful for so many. The opportunity to be a head coach again at a school with the rich basketball history that is Emporia State University is something I couldn’t pass up. I am so blessed that Director of Athletics David Spafford & his team selected me to be their Women’s Basketball Head Coach. Finally, it’s been an honor and privilege to serve K-State & the women’s basketball program for the past 9 years. Thank you and forever Go Cats!"
Ostermann completed his ninth season at K-State in 2022-23, serving as the associate head coach during all nine seasons in Manhattan. This was Ostermann’s 34th season of coaching at the collegiate level.
K-State head coach Jeff Mittie’s teams have been known for playing a stifling defense and Ostermann helped develop those schemes, setting school along the way.
“Emporia State has made a terrific hire in Coach O,” stated Mittie. “He has been a successful head coach at every one of his coaching stops and an integral part of our success here at Kansas State and at TCU. He understands the MIAA conference and the great women’s basketball history at Emporia State. I have no doubt he will be a huge success at Emporia State. Brian, Julie and the entire family will be a great addition to the Emporia community.”
During the 2021-22 season, the Wildcats set the school record for blocks in a single-season (170). In Ostermann's nine seasons with the Wildcats, K-State blocked 130 or more shots in all nine seasons.
As a team, the 2019-20 K-State squad tied for the second-most blocked shots in program history (163) and set the school record for blocks per game (5.6 bpg).
The Wildcats held opponents to a .374 field goal percentage and 64.7 points per game. The .374 opponent field goal percentage was the second-lowest since Mittie and Ostermann arrived at K-State.
Mittie and Ostermann helped reshape K-State’s defense in their first season in 2014-15, as the Wildcats finished the season ranked 44th in the nation in scoring defense (58.2 ppg allowed), 12th in steals (11.3 spg) and 42nd in blocked shots (4.7 bpg). K-State’s defense ranked first in the Big 12 in steals, second in scoring defense and third in blocked shots.
The Wildcats registered the second-most steals in program history with 374 in 2014-15. In addition to the 374 steals, K-State blocked 156 shots.
Along with his time at K-State, Ostermann was the associate head coach at TCU from 2008-14, served as the men's basketball head coach at Missouri State - West Plains from 2004-08 and the men's basketball head coach at Colby (Kan.) Community College from 1999-04.
Ostermann served as an assistant coach, holding positions with the Kansas City men's basketball team (1996-99), Missouri Western (1992-96) and Mercyhurst College (1991-92). His first season at Missouri Western was spent as an assistant for both the men’s and women’s team. That season marked Mittie’s first season as head coach of the Griffon women’s program. One of Ostermann’s early achievements included the successful recruitment of two-time All-American Tonya Foster to Missouri Western.
Ostermann began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Northwest Missouri State University (1989-91), where he graduated with a master’s of science degree in education. Ostermann earned his bachelor of science degree in physical education from Wisconsin-La Crosse in 1988. He and his wife, Julie, have four children: Robbie, John, Allie and Emily.
K-State concluded its 55th season of action with a 19-17 record and the 33rd postseason appearance in program history with its seventh bid into the WNIT. During the 2022-23 season, the Wildcats became the 19th program in NCAA Division I history to surpass the 1,000-win mark.