Katrina Merriweather is in her third year as an assistant coach at Purdue. The Indianapolis native and granddaughter of 1959 Purdue All-American Willie Merriweather serves as the program's recruiting coordinator and coaches the Boilermaker guard corps. She also has responsibilities with scouting and academics.
Merriweather cherishes the opportunity to coach in her home state.
"I'm so grateful to be coaching at Purdue," Merriweather says. "I feel very fortunate to wake up every day knowing that I get to work with such incredibly talented and driven people. Purdue is a special place."
Head coach Kristy Curry considers Merriweather to be one of the top young coaches in the game.
"Trina has established herself in a short time as one of the premier recruiters in the country," Curry says. "Her passion and love for the game are special, and there is no doubt that she is destined for greatness in our profession. We are fortunate to have her as part of our family."
In 2003-04, her first year in West Lafayette, Merriweather assisted the Boilermakers in a 29-4 campaign, in which they won the Big Ten Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. She also played a major role in recruiting a five-player class rated in many scouting services' top 10.
Merriweather's recruiting success carried over the following year, as she helped Kristy Curry sign a class rated in the top 10 by Blue Star Basketball. While she was scouring gyms nationwide, Merriweather also filled her role in Mackey Arena, helping guide one of the youngest teams in Purdue history to a 17-win season and an NCAA Tournament berth.
Merriweather came to Purdue following a year as an assistant coach at Illinois-Chicago. Charged with performing duties such as travel, film exchange, scouting and recruiting correspondence, Merriweather was part of head coach Lisa Ryckbosch's staff that guided the Flames to a 17-11 record in 2002-03.
Merriweather began her collegiate coaching career at Cincinnati, her alma mater. As a graduate assistant during the 2001-02 season, Merriweather handled scouting and film duties. The Bearcats posted a 26-5 record that year and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Merriweather graduated from Cincinnati in 2001, with a B.A. in English literature. Under head coach Laurie Pirtle, the Bearcats advanced to postseason play all four years during Merriweather's career; they played in the NCAA Tournament in 1999, and the WNIT in 1998, 2000 and 2001. From 1997-98 to 2000-01, Merriweather and her teammates posted an 83-41 record.
Merriweather earned a second degree, a B.S. in secondary education, from Cincinnati in 2002.
Merriweather's coaching resume extends beyond Cincinnati and Illinois-Chicago. She has coached AAU basketball for The Family, Inc., based in Indianapolis, in addition to serving as a summer camp coach at DePaul, Wright State, Cincinnati and Purdue.
Merriweather graduated from Cathedral High School in Indianapolis in 1997. She was a member of the 1997 Indiana All-Star Team.
Personal
Full name is Katrina Marie Merriweather ... earned a B.A. in English literature at Cincinnati in 2001 ... received second bachelor[apos]s degree, a B.S. in secondary education, from Cincinnati in 2002 ... graduated from Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, Ind.