In her 34th season on the sideline of her alma mater in 2026-27, 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 586-294 in 33 seasons, and has led the Pioneers to 12 NCAA Tournament bids (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2026), the 1993, 2011 and 2012 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament titles, 10 additional berths in the NJAC Tournament championship game (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2026), and the 2018 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament championship.
The 2025-26 campaign was one to remember as Monahan guided the Pioneers to a 25-3 overall record and 18-0 mark in conference play en route to securing an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. WP not only set a program record for single-season NJAC victories but also tied the program mark for single-season winning percentage (.893). The Pioneers additionally tied the program record for fewest regular-season losses (1) and the fewest losses in a single campaign (3). Monahan led the Pioneers to their first NJAC regular-season title since the 2011-12 campaign, when the conference was split into north and south divisions, and the first with full conference membership since the 1997-98 season. She coached a pair of NJAC major award winners in Renee Wells (Player of the Year) and Jada Jacobs (Defensive Player of the Year) while also collecting ECAC Coach of the Year and NJAC Coaching Staff of the Year recognition. Under Monahan’s tutelage, Wells went on to earn all-region honors and be named the program’s first all-American since the 2013-14 season.
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 33 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 13 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: Caitlin, who played on the Pioneers’ softball team, Patrick, who was a member of the men's basketball team, and Colleen, who graduated from WP.
Monahan’s WP Coaching Highlights
- 586 wins across 33 seasons (1992-2026)
- Twelve NCAA Tournament bids (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2026)
- Three NJAC titles (1993, 2011 and 2012)
- Twenty-nine NJAC Tournament appearances
- Thirteen NJAC Tournament championship appearances (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2026)
- One ECAC Tournament championship (2018)
- Eight All-Americans
- Seventeen All-Region performers
- Two MBWA Player of the Year honorees
- Fifteen All-MBWA Team recipients
- Four ECAC Major Award Winners (Three Player’s of the Year, one Rookie of the Year)
- Twenty-two All-ECAC Team selections
- Seventeen NJAC Major Award Winners (Six Player’s of the Year, seven Defensive Player’s of the Year, four Rookie’s of the Year)
- Sixty-four all-NJAC honorees
- Seven-time NJAC Coach of the Year
- One-time ECAC Coach of the Year
- One-time NJCBA Coach of the Year award
- Twelve All-State performers
- Fourteen academic all-district selections
- Sixty spots on the Academic All-NJAC Team
