A week after head coach Kate Popovec-Goss left Bradley women’s basketball for Boston College, the Athletics Department announced today that the search for their new head coach is over.
The new head coach? Former Marquette women’s basketball assistant coach Chaia Meier.
After spending two years with the Golden Eagles, the Normal native is packing her bags for home at the Renaissance Coliseum and inheriting a team full of young talent.
“My family and I are thrilled to join the Bradley community and return to Central Illinois, a place that we consider home,” Meier said in a press release from the Bradley Athletics Department. “I want to thank Chris Reynolds and Jen Jones for the opportunity to lead this program and these young women. Bradley Women’s Basketball is primed to take the next step, and I am honored to be entrusted with that challenge.”
In her time with Marquette, Meier helped the team accumulate 39 wins over two seasons and qualify for the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) in 2024-25. Her efforts in player development helped three Golden Eagles players earn All-Big East honors, and their defensive playstyle led the conference in rebounds last year.
Before she took the job in Milwaukee, Meier had 16 years of head coaching experience with Moody Bible Institute, Grace University and Edgewood College, including a record 25-win season, tournament championship and a Division III NCAA Tournament bid with the latter.
Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Chris Reynolds spoke highly of Meier in the press release, calling her the “ideal leader for Bradley women’s basketball” and someone who will “create a premier student-athlete experience that positions our program for sustained success.”
“Throughout this search, Chaia quickly distinguished herself as the right person to lead our program forward,” Reynolds said. “As a Central Illinois native, she brings a strong connection to this region and a clear understanding of what it takes to excel at Bradley. Chaia has demonstrated success as both a head coach and assistant, consistently developing student-athletes and building competitive programs.”
Marquette head coach Cara Consuegra ended the press release with a monologue on Meier and what she will bring to the program, saying that she is “incredibly loyal” and “a tremendous leader who will elevate the program in every way.”
“Chaia Meier is the kind of coach every program hopes to find — someone who is not only exceptional at what she does on the court, but an even better person off of it,” Consuegra said. “She understands what it takes to build a program the right way and to win consistently. Chaia invests deeply in people — she builds genuine relationships, cares about the growth and development of her players, and creates a culture that lasts.”
After close efforts against Northern Iowa in the MVC tournament and George Washington in the WNIT, the talent within Bradley’s women’s basketball team aims to expand even further with the appointment of Coach Meier.
