In her 32nd season on the sideline of her alma mater in 2024-25, Erin Monahan is not only the most successful women’s basketball coach in William Paterson history, but she also is one of the very best in the nation.
Monahan owns a record of 540-282 in 31 seasons, and has led the Pioneers to 11 NCAA Tournament bids (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013), the 1993, 2011 and 2012 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament titles, nine additional berths in the NJAC Tournament championship game (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2014), and the 2018 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament championship.
Her 500th career win came during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season with a 67-42 victory against Rutgers-Newark (2/13/21). Monahan earned her 400th career victory (95-64 vs. Rowan, 12/11/13) as WP qualified for the 2014 NJAC Tournament final. The Pioneers made their sixth trip to the NCAA Tournament in a seven-year span in 2013, reaching the second round while registering a 21-8 overall mark and advancing to the NJAC Tournament final.
Tying a school record of 26 wins (26-3), the Pioneers secured their third NJAC Tournament championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament during the 2011-12 season. For her efforts, Monahan was selected as the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) Division II/III and NJAC Coach of the Year.
Registering a 26-4 record during the 2010-11 season, the Pioneers finished atop the 2011 NJAC North Division standings and won the program's second NJAC Tournament crown. Playing without a single senior, William Paterson advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen for the fourth time in school history (1995, 1997, 1998, 2011), and Monahan was named the D3hoops.com Atlantic Region Coach of the Year.
In 2009-10, Monahan recorded her 300th career victory (85-47 vs. Clark; Nov. 20, 2009) while receiving her fifth NJAC Coach of the Year Award, leading the Pioneers to a 25-3 record, a runner-up finish in the NJAC Tournament and a third bid in a four-year span to the NCAA Tournament. During the 2008-09 season, WP was 19-8 overall and reached the semifinals of the NJAC Tournament, while in 2007-08, the Pioneers tallied a 20-7 overall record and an 11-2 NJAC mark, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. In 2006-07, Monahan led William Paterson to a berth in the NJAC Tournament final and the NCAA Tournament second round, and was named the NJAC and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Region 3 Coach of the Year. During the last 10 seasons, WP was 207-73 (.739) under Monahan’s leadership with six NCAA Tournament appearances.
After 28 years on the sideline, her passion for imparting the fundamentals of basketball every practice day at the Sports and Recreation Center remains constant. Several players have developed into strong performers thanks to Monahan’s tutelage. Luci Custis was the 2007 NJAC Player of the Year and a two-time NJAC Defensive Player of the Year (2006, 2007), earning all-America laurels as a senior, while Asia Johnson was the 2008 NJAC Defensive Player of the Year. BriAnna Lucas was named the 2009 NJAC Rookie of the Year, the 2011 NJAC Co-Player and Defensive Player of the Year and one of 10 members of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division III State Farm All-America Team. In 2012, she repeated as the NJAC Defensive Player of the Year, was an honorable-mention WBCA all-American and finished as WP’s career steals leader (308). April Smith was selected to three All-NJAC First Teams, was a 2011 honorable-mention WBCA all-American and was the 2012 NJAC, ECAC and D3hoops.com Atlantic Region Player of the Year, a D3hoops.com third-team all-American and a first-team WBCA all-American. Most recently, Floriana Borova garnered 2013 and 2014 honorable-mention WBCA all-America laurels.
The list of terrific performers goes back to the beginning of her coaching career, with two, Stephanie Arrigo and Meg Renna, being named consecutive NJAC Players of the Year in 1999 and 2000. Ten of her former players have been inducted into the William Paterson University Alumni Association Athletic Hall of Fame: Arrigo ('00), Jill Bachonski (’95), Bridget Brennan (’98), Keira Haines (’96), Maureen Marz (’95), Dana Feltz (’00), Meg Renna (‘01), Wendy Kane (‘02), Michelle Pellichero ('09) and Lucas ('13), as well as her 1994-95 and 1997-98 teams.
Monahan enjoyed success from the opening tip of her career as William Paterson’s head coach, guiding the Pioneers to the program’s first NJAC championship in 1992-93, her first season. She has piloted the Pioneers to 11 20-win seasons, two trips to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight (1995, 1998) and two berths in the Sweet 16 (1997, 2011).
Prior to becoming the head coach at her alma mater, Monahan was a second-team all-NJAC performer in 1990. She finished her career with 1,025 points, a total that still ranks 23rd all time. She also was a starting first baseman for the Pioneers’ softball team from 1987-90 before completing a bachelor’s degree in exercise and movement science at William Paterson in 1991, and a master’s in sport administration at Montclair State University in 1996. Monahan and her husband, Kevin, have three children who are all currently WP students: Caitlin, who plays on the Pioneers’ softball team, Patrick, a member of the men's basketball team, and Colleen.
Monahan’s WP Coaching Highlights
- 540 wins across 31 seasons (1992-2024)
- Eleven NCAA Tournament bids (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
- Three NJAC titles (1993, 2011 and 2012)
- Twenty-seven NJAC Tournament appearances
- Twelve NJAC Tournament championship appearances (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2014)
- One ECAC Tournament championship (2018)
- Seven All-Americans
- Fifteen All-Region performers
- Two MBWA Player of the Year honorees
- Twelve All-MBWA Team recipients
- Four ECAC Major Award Winners (Three Player’s of the Year, one Rookie of the Year)
- Twenty-one All-ECAC Team selections
- Fifteen NJAC Major Award Winners (Five Player’s of the Year, six Defensive Player’s of the Year, four Rookie’s of the Year)
- Fifty-nine all-NJAC honorees
- One-time NJCBA Coach of the Year award
- Twelve All-State performers
- Six academic all-district selections
- Fifty-one spots on the Academic All-NJAC Team