Annie Malkowiak to coach Mt. Pleasant boys basketball, a 1st for Westmoreland County

By:
Wednesday, June 28, 2023 | 4:21 PM


Mt. Pleasant’s boys basketball team will have a female head coach next season.

Annie Malkowiak was approved unanimously for the position during Wednesday night’s school board meeting.

She becomes the first woman to coach a varsity boys basketball team in Westmoreland County.

Malkowiak is the second woman to currently coach a boys basketball team in the WPIAL, joining Tanya Garner of Nazareth Prep. Garner, a former standout at West Mifflin, began coaching at Nazareth Prep last season.

In 1997, Carol Gelet guided the Clairton boys to a WPIAL championship. At the time, she was believed to be just the second woman to coach a boys basketball team in District 7 history.

Malkowiak coached four seasons with the women’s basketball team at Cal (Pa.), her college alma mater where she is a hall of fame player.

An Ellwood City graduate, she also served as associate director of athletic relations at Cal.

At the high school level, she was a head coach for the Uniontown girls and served as an assistant girls coach at California.

Malkowiak scored 2,368 points in a standout prep career at Ellwood City. She was the first girl from Beaver County to score 2,000 points.

Malkowiak replaces T.J. Kravits, who resigned after three seasons. Kravits was 17-44 with one playoff appearance.

Mt. Pleasant also is seeking a wrestling coach after the resignation of Zach Snyder.

The district hopes to have someone hired by August.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags:

More High School Basketball

WPIAL launches investigations into Baldwin, Imani Christian over ‘possible recruiting violations’
Westmoreland high school notebook: Puck drops for area’s PIHL teams
Penn Hills notebook: Basketball grad to play professionally in Ireland
New coach Gabby Baldasare excited to fill big shoes with North Allegheny girls basketball
Dana Petruska comes out of retirement to take over as girls basketball coach at Deer Lakes