University of Detroit Mercy Director of Athletics
Robert C. Vowels, Jr. announced that former collegiate standout and coaching veteran
Kate Achter (OCK-terr) as the 14th women's basketball head coach in school history on April 27, 2022.
The 2024-25 season saw Achter guide the Titans to a 15-15 overall record and 8-12 mark in the Horizon League. Detroit Mercy started #HLWBB play 4-0 for the first time since the 1996-97 season following a 67-59 victory over IU Indy on New Year's Day at Calihan Hall. UDM finished the year 11-5 at home, including a win over Achter's Alma Mater Bowling Green on Nov. 4th. Detroit Mercy earned a No. 6 seed in the #HLWBB Championship, and earned a First Round home victory over Milwaukee on Mar. 4th. Achter coached three players to All-Horizon League honors, as Emaia O'Brien and Aaliyah McQueen were named Third Team All-Conference, while Kailey Starks was named to the All-Freshman team.
In just her second season, Achter completely transformed the program leading Detroit Mercy to a 17-16 (9-11 HL) record during the 2023-24 campaign, marking the first winning season since the 2016-17 season. The 12-win improvement over last year was the biggest turnaround in school history and one of the top in the nation as the Titans won just 16 total games the previous six years combined. UDM's nine #HLWBB wins were also the most since the 2016-17 season, including wins over 2023-24 #HLWBB Regular Season champion Cleveland State and third-place finisher Purdue Fort Wayne.
Additional 2023-24 Season Milestones:
• No. 6 seed Detroit Mercy's 59-48 first-round win over No. 11 seed RMU was their first #HLWBB Championship first-round victory since the 2016-17 season.
• The Titans finished non-conference play with a 7-4 record for the first time in 31 years since the 1991-92 season including wins over Midwest programs in Bellarmine, Dayton, Eastern Michigan, and Western Michigan.
• Detroit Mercy went 11-5 to start the season for the first time in over two decades since the 1999-00 season. During that season, the Titans started 15-4 and ended 18-9 overall and 9-5 in MCC (Mid-Western Collegiate Conference) play.
• During the week of Jan. 29, UDM received two votes in the 2023-24 College Insider.com Mid-Major Poll for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
• UDM's win over CSU snapped a six-game skid against the Vikings.
• The Titans' win over Milwaukee snapped an 11-game skid against the Panthers.
• UDM's win over PFW snapped a five-game skid against the Mastodons.
• Detroit Mercy's win over Northern Kentucky snapped a 13-game skid against the Norse.
• The victory over arch-rival Oakland snapped a 12-game skid against the Golden Grizzlies and was the Titans' first #MetroSeries win since 2017.
• UDM's win at Youngstown State snapped a 10-game skid against the Penguins and marked the first time the Titans won a #HLWBB opener since the 2016-17 season when they defeated Valparaiso 85-60 on Dec. 29, 2016.
• The Titans' over WMU snapped a seven-game skid against the Broncos.
• The win over USC Upstate was the first time since the 2001-02 season UDM started with a 4-2 record and marked the first time the Titans won two consecutive games since the 2016-17 season.
• UDM's win at Dayton moved marked the first time since the 2010-11 season the Titans started with a 3-2 record.
• The Titans won both games by a 30-point and 35-point margin. The last time the UDM posted back-to-back 30-point wins was during the 2012-13 season when they
defeated Lourdes, IPFW and Madonna.
• Detroit's Mercy's win over Chicago State moved the Titans to 2-0 to start the season for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
• UDM's win over EMU snapped a four-game skid against the Eagles and marked the Titans' first season-opening win since the 2018-19 season.
• Additionally, it was UDM's first season-opening road win since the 2016-17 season and was the Titans' first win over a Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponent since they defeated the Eagles, 77-64, on Dec. 6, 2016.
Under Achter's guidance during the 2022-23 campaign, the women's hoops squad increased their win total by four games beginning with a win over Canisius which snapped a 24-game home court losing skid. The Titans also secured a series sweep over Robert Morris in #HLWBB play and also upset defending league champion IUPUI for the first time in program history. Additionally,
Amaya Burch (the coaching staff's first recruit) earned All-Freshman Team honors after scoring in double-figures 12 times while grabbing 10 boards or more in three games. She also led the team in 3-pointers made (29) while ranking second with three double-doubles and third in rebounds per game (4.7).
Achter was an All-American student-athlete at Bowling Green and has coached at Loyola Chicago, St. Bonaventure and Xavier.
She spent six seasons as head coach of fellow Jesuit institution Loyola Chicago, where she guided a program from 2-28 in her first season to 18-12 last year, the most wins by the Ramblers since the 1988-89 season. In her six seasons, Loyola Chicago improved its overall win and conference victory total in five campaigns, with its 10-8 mark last year good for fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Under her guidance, the Ramblers collected 13 All-Conference accolades, including five All-Freshman Team selections, four All-League picks and one Freshman of the Year recipient. The team GPA also grew from a 2.4 to a 3.5 in her six seasons.
She was one of the youngest coaches in the country when she took over Loyola Chicago. Achter had to deal with a roster turnaround that included just three returning letterwinners and moved the win total to seven wins in her second season, 13 in her third and a winning record of 15-14 in her fourth year, just the third winning season by the program since 1988-89, where the Ramblers also earned their first-ever postseason berth in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI).
Prior to her arrival at Loyola Chicago, she was an assistant coach and the team's recruiting coordinator at Xavier during the 2015-16 season. In that one season, she helped the program to a 17-13 overall record and aided in the development of Briana Glover, who was named an All-BIG EAST Conference selection.
Before that, she was an assistant coach and associate head coach at St. Bonaventure, helping the program to three postseason berths, highlighted by a trip to the Sweet 16 in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. St. Bonaventure posted three seasons of 20 or more wins during her tenure, including a school-record 31 wins in 2011-12, and that season, the Bonnies also won their first-ever Atlantic 10 regular-season title.
In her coaching history, she has seen student-athletes receive 21 All-Conference selections, one Freshman of the Year and one Sixth Women of the Year accolades.
"She has experienced a tremendous amount of success as a head coach, assistant coach, and student-athlete and I look forward to seeing her build this program to championship standards," said Vowels. "I would like to thank the search committee for their hard work in identifying some great candidates and ultimately coming together and deciding that coach Achter is the best person to lead our program."
A 2008 graduate of Bowling Green and a member of the 2018 Hall-Of-Fame class, Achter was a driving force as the Falcons captured four straight Mid-American Conference (MAC) titles and made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament during her playing career, highlighted by a Sweet 16 berth in 2007, the deepest run a MAC team has ever made. In her time as a student-athlete, the Falcons were 108-23 in their careers, including 57-7 in the MAC. She was a three-time All-MAC selection, a three-time MAC All-Tournament Team member and a MAC Tournament MVP. The All-American point guard finished her career ranked fifth on the school's all-time scoring list (1,580) and as the Falcons' all-time leader in both assists (688) and free throws made (551). Following graduation, she played professionally for one season with Palaio Faliro in Athens, Greece, before returning to her alma mater as a graduate assistant with its strength and conditioning staff.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education from Bowling Green in 2009 and her Master of Education in 2010.
Achter and her wife, Tina, have two children, Reese (four) and Archie (10 months).
