| Katie Schumacher-Cawley | |
| Current Title: | Head coach |
| Current Team: | Penn State |
| Current Conference: | Big Ten |
| Birth Date: | 10 March 1980 |
| Birth Place: | Chicago, IL |
| Alma Mater: | Pennsylvania State University |
| Player Team1: | Penn State (volleyball) |
| Player Years1: | 1998–2001 |
| Player Team2: | Penn State (basketball) |
| Player Years2: | 2001–2002 |
| Coach Years1: | 2002 |
| Coach Team1: | Illinois (Volunteer Assistant) |
| Coach Years2: | 2003–2009 |
| Coach Team2: | UIC (Assistant) |
| Coach Years3: | 2009–2016 |
| Coach Team3: | UIC |
| Coach Years4: | 2017 |
| Coach Team4: | Penn |
| Coach Years5: | 2018–2021 |
| Coach Team5: | Penn State (Associate HC) |
| Coach Years6: | 2022– |
| Coach Team6: | Penn State |
| Awards: | Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame (2008) Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Hall of Fame (2003) |
Katie Anne Schumacher-Cawley (born March 10, 1980) is an American former volleyball and basketball player and is the head coach of the Penn State women's volleyball team. After serving as the associate head coach since 2018, she was named head coach on January 10, 2022, following Russ Rose's retirement from coaching.
Prior to being named the head coach at Penn State, Schumacher-Cawley was the head coach at UIC and Penn[1]
A 2002 graduate of Penn State, she was a two-time American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American, three-time All-Big Ten selection, and three-time AVCA All-Region selection volleyball player for the Nittany Lions. She was a member of the 1999 NCAA national championship Team and ended her Penn State career with 1,310 kills, 772 digs and 299 blocks. Schumacher-Cawley also played basketball for the Lady Lions basketball team in 2001–2002, and was part of the team's 2002 Sweet Sixteen run.[2]
A native of Chicago, Illinois, she was inducted into Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and was named to the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in 2003.[3]
In her first season as Penn State's head coach in 2022, the team went undefeated in its pre conference season, starting at 11–0,[4] despite having lost 7 starters from the previous season to graduation or transferring.[5] Penn State went 13–7 in conference play, finishing in 5th place.[6] Further, in 2022, she coached several players to conference and national recognition. In the Big Ten, senior outside hitter Kashauna Williams and junior middle blocker Allie Holland were named to first team, while senior setter Seleisa Elisaia were named to the second team. Freshman outside hitter Alexa Markley rounded out conference awards by being named to the All-Freshman team, and graduate student middle blocker Katie Clark earned the sportsmanship honor.[7] Penn State went 13–7 in conference play, finishing in 5th place. In the NCAA postseason, Penn State earned the #4 seed in the Wisconsin regional. She was the only first year head coach in 2022 to lead her team to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament. Moreover, Seleisa Elisaia, Allie Holland, and Kashauna Williams were recognized as AVCA all region first team players.