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Cindy Stein enters her ninth, and final, season as the head coach of the Salukis in 2020-21. She was named the 10th head coach in Southern Illinois women’s basketball history on April 3, 2013. A proven winner and a former NCAA Division II Coach of the Year, Stein has made an immediate impact at SIU much like she has in each of her previous head coaching stints.

At Southern Illinois
2020-21 (9-16, 5-13 MVC)

The Salukis navigated a tumultuous COVID-19 season in which Southern started nine different players due to various injuries as well as COVID related quarantines. Southern won three of its first four games to open the 2020-21 season, and won its conference opener for the seventh-straight season under Stein. Makenzie Silvey earned All-MVC First Team honors while Silvey, Abby Brockmeyer and Payton McCallister took home MVC Scholar-Athlete team recognition. In the classroom, the Salukis earned the No. 8 ranking in the WBCA’s Academic Top-25 Honor Roll-which not only marked the fourth time in the last five seasons that SIU made the list but it was also the highest ranking that Southern has achieved in its now seven appearances in the WBCA Academic Top-25.

2019-20 (16-13, 8-10)
The Salukis posted their sixth-straight winning season under Stein during a season in which they defeated a ranked opponent (Missouri State) for the first time since 1991. SIU’s win over Missouri State marked the 100th career win for Stein at Southern, as she joined Saluki greats Charlotte West and Cindy Scott as the only head coaches in program history to reach the century mark for victories while at SIU. Southern’s RPI of 105 was its highest since 2007 and SIU’s four top-100 wins during the 2019-20 season were its most since at least 2002. The Salukis also repeated as Compass Challenge Champions, as they defeated both Western Illinois and Northern Illinois to claim the mid-season crown. Nicole Martin and Makenzie Silvey were both selected to the All-MVC honorable mention team while Brittney Patrick earned her first career All-Defensive Team honor. Silvey was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team while Abby Brockmeyer and Martin both earned MVC Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention recognition. SIU’s three scholar-athlete honorees were tied with Northern Iowa for the most of any Valley school while Southern has had at least one MVC Scholar-Athlete honoree in each of Cindy Stein’s seven seasons as head coach.

2018-19 (15-15, 8-10 MVC)
The 2018-19 was yet another winning season for the Salukis under Stein. The Salukis posted a winning record in non-conference play for the fourth time in the last five seasons capped off with wins over Eastern and Northern Illinois to take home the inaugural Compass Challenge Championship. It marked Southern’s first mid-season tournament title since the 1986-87 season. Nicole Martin was named to the All-MVC First Team for the second-straight season while Makenzie Silvey was honored on the All-MVC Honorable Mention team for the first time in her career. Martin is the sixth Saluki to repeat as an All-MVC First Team selection, and the fourth to do so under Stein. In the classroom, Southern had a banner year. The Salukis earned the No. 11 ranking in the WBCA’s Academic Top-25 Honor Roll, which was the highest finish in program history. It was the second time in the last three seasons in which SIU has earned inclusion on the list, while its grade point average of 3.621 was its highest of the five times that the Salukis have earned a spot on the list. SIU also had three players earn MVC scholar-athlete honors, which was tied with Northern Iowa and Drake for the most of any Valley school. Southern has had at least one MVC Scholar-Athlete honoree in every season under Stein and have totaled 12 MVC Scholar-Athlete honorees during her tenure.

2017-18 (17-14, 11-7 MVC)
The 2017-18 season marked the fourth-straight winning season for the Salukis under Stein. SIU once again earned the No. 4 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and advanced to the semifinal game for the second time in three years.

Abby Brockmeyer became the first Saluki to earn MVC Freshman of the Year honors since 2012 and both Kylie Giebelhausen and Nicole Martin were honored as All-MVC First Team selections. Giebelhausen also took MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team and MVC All-Defensive Team honors and is one of just five Salukis to earn back-to-back All-MVC First Team nods.

On the court, the Salukis grit and determination was evident in their 4-0 record in overtime games, which broke the Missouri Valley Conference record for overtime wins in a season. Southern also finished top-3 in both steals and blocks for the first time in program history.

The Salukis continue to excel in the classroom under Stein. SIU posted a 3.34 grade point average in 2017-18 and tied a program record with four recipients of the MVC Commissioner’s Academic Excellence award, given to student-athletes who post at least a 3.5 GPA for consecutive terms.

2016-17 (16-15, 10-8 MVC)
The 2016-17 season marked the third-straight winning season for the Salukis under Stein. Southern advanced to the WBI tournament for the second-straight season, which marked the first time in nearly 30 years that the program has made back-to-back postseason appearances.

The Salukis once again shattered the school record for three-pointers in a season and broke the single game points record against Brescia on Nov. 25. Southern went on to earn the fourth seed in the MVC Tournament, which was its highest seed since the 1996-97 season.

Rishonda Napier and Kylie Giebelhausen each earned All-MVC First Team honors in 2016-17, as Napier became the third Saluki in program history to earn three All-MVC First-Team selections. Giebelhausen, meanwhile, earned the first All-MVC recognition of her career after a breakout junior campaign in which she led the Salukis in scoring and finished the regular season in the top-10 in the Valley in six statistical categories.

The Salukis also got it done in the classroom, as their 3.51 GPA tied with Fairfield University for No. 22 on the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top-25 Honor Roll. It marked the fourth time since the 2001-02 season that Southern has garnered a spot on the WBCA Academic Top-25 list, and the first time they have done so since the 2007-08 season. Southern also had three earn inclusion on the MVC Scholar Athlete teams, which tied the Salukis with Northern Iowa for the most honorees of any Valley school.

2015-16 (20-13, 12-6 MVC)
The 2015-16 season kept with the theme of several program firsts within Stein's tenure while the squad’s 20-13 overall record marked the program’s 10th 20-win season. The Salukis beat every Missouri Valley Conference foe at least once and advanced to the semifinals of the MVC Tournament for the first time since the 1994-95 season. In doing so, Southern earned an invitation to the Women's Basketball Invitational, the program's first postseason berth since 2007.

The Salukis averaged 69.2 points per game during the season, the highest mark in more than 20 years while shattering the school record for three-pointers made in a single-season. The Dawgs continued to win the battle of the boards under Stein, and for just the eighth time in program history, and the first time since the 1995-96 season, SIU averaged more than 40 rebounds per game. Southern's 42.2 rpg were second only to the 1994-95 team's 42.3 rpg for highest average in school history. 

Under Stein's tutelage, three Salukis, Dyana Pierre, Rishonda Napier and Cartaesha Macklin earned All-MVC first-team honors, with Pierre nabbing both All-MVC first-team and All-Defensive team honors. The three first-team selections are the most in a single-season in program history. The Dawgs also continued to raise the bar in the classroom, as the 2015-16 team achieved the highest team GPA in 11 semesters and 9 of 12 Salukis posted a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. The league office took notice, as the Salukis garnered three MVC Scholar Athlete selections, the most for Southern since the 2008-09 season.

Stein's coaching tree continued to grow, as associate head coach Andrea Gorski was named the head coach at Bradley University. Gorski joins an impressive list of former Stein assistant coaches who have gone on to head coaching positions: Brandon Schneider, an assistant for Stein at Emporia State, was hired as the head coach at Kansas in 2015. Tanya Warren, the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year, was an assistant for Stein at Missouri from 2001-04 and has been the head coach at the University of Northern Iowa since 2007 while Matt Daniel, an assistant under Stein at Missouri, is now the head coach at Marshall University. Dave Wilbers, another former Stein assistant at Mizzou, just completed his ninth season as the head coach at Arkansas Tech, where he has compiled a 218-58 record. Most recently, Amanda Hanneman, who played for Stein at Missouri and went on to serve as a graduate assistant on Stein's inaugural staff at SIU, just completed her first season as the head women's basketball coach at St. Teresa's Academy in Kansas City, Mo.

2014-15 (17-13, 10-8 MVC)
Stein and the Salukis conducted an improbable change of gear in 2014-15. Southern went 17-13 overall with a 10-8 conference record with Stein at the helm, ushering in the largest turnaround from one season to the next in school history at plus-12 wins. In fact, that turnaround was third-best in the NCAA by the end of the regular season in 2014-15. In perhaps the best Saluki women's team since the 2006-07 WNIT team, Stein and the Salukis stunned the Missouri Valley with a bonafide, efficient offense that came primarily from the first solid starting five SIU had seen in ages in redshirt sophomore Rishonda Napier (point guard), redshirt junior Cartaesha Macklin (shooting guard), freshman Kylie Giebelhausen (shooting guard), junior Azia Washington (power forward) and junior Dyana Pierre (center). The crew went 16-8 together and combined for 84.2 percent of all SIU scoring.

After losing backcourt superstars Macklin and Napier to redshirt seasons in 2013-14, Stein had an optimal offensive weapon set with skilled shooters on the outside, skilled bigs down low in Pierre and Washington, and superb passers getting them the ball and opening mismatches. Southern improved in nearly every statistical category from Stein's first season to her second, including scoring, turnover ratio and even attendance. Pierre and Napier both put in monumentally historic seasons, and both were rewarded with First-Team All-MVC honors for their superb efforts. Pierre was the only player in the Valley to average a double-double at 14.6 PPG and 11.8 RPG -- the latter of which was the eighth-best rebounding average in the NCAA that season. Pierre also put in only the seventh-ever 14-of-14 game in NCAA history, became just the fifth Saluki to ever record a 20-20 game and the fifth Saluki to ever join the 1,000-900 club.

2013-14 (5-25, 3-15 MVC)
Stein's inaugural team at SIU went 5-25 after a slew of bad breaks left the team with only nine available players for the entire MVC schedule. Despite playing without three players who figured to be major contributors, including preseason All-MVC guard Cartaesha Macklin, Stein improved the team's field-goal percentage defense, 3-point percentage defense, scoring defense, rebound margin, blocks and assist-to-turnover ratio from the season before. She improved the team's conference win total from one to three, including an upset over eventual MVC regular-season and tournament champion Wichita State. Stein helped turn Dyana Pierre into a budding star in the Valley. Pierre averaged 14.0 points and an MVC-best 9.6 rebounds as a sophomore and became the first SIU player to earn first-team All-MVC recognition since 2006, and just the second to do so since 2000.

Stein also used her platform to give back to the community. The team auctioned off game-worn jerseys to raise more than $4,000 for the Hope is Home Campaign, which is Southern Illinois Healthcare's campaign for a state-of-the-art cancer treatment facility in southern Illinois. She also began an annual Donate Life event at an SIU women's basketball game, which helps spread awareness for organ donation and allows fans to sign up as organ donors at a game.

At Illinois Central College
Stein came to Carbondale after leading Illinois Central College to a 32-4 record and a third-place finish at the NJCAA Division II national tournament during hr lone season at the school in 2012-13. Stein turned around an ICC team that went 16-16 the year before her arrival. Stein was named the NJCAA Region XX1V Coach of the Year following ICC's run.

At Missouri
Prior to ICC, Stein spent 12 seasons as the head coach at Missouri where she led the Tigers to 185 wins between 1998 and 2010. Stein inherited a Mizzou team that went 11-16 in 1997-98 and led the Tigers to a 22-10 record with a Sweet 16 run by her third year in 2000-01.

Stein's tenure at Mizzou saw the Tigers make seven total postseason appearances with three NCAA Tournament bids and four WNIT appearances. Stein's players at Mizzou earned a combined 24 All-Big 12 honors with four First-Team selections, and she coached five Tigers who were selected in the WNBA Draft. Additionally, Mizzou players earned a combined 46 Academic All-Big 12 honors under Stein's watch.
Following a 13-15 mark during her first season in Columbia, Mo., Stein's Tigers went 18-12 during the 1999-2000 season, marking the program's best record in seven seasons. The 1999-2000 Tigers also earned the program's first postseason berth since 1994 with a trip to the WNIT.

Stein's third year saw Mizzou go to historic heights as the 2000-01 Tigers posted their best record in 13 years and made a run to the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history. Following the season, Amanda Lassister became Mizzou's first-ever first-round WNBA Draft pick when she was selected 15th overall by the Houston Comets while fellow Tiger Marlena "Pep" Williams was selected by the Indiana Fever in the third round.

Missouri ultimately made it to the postseason six-consecutive seasons with WNIT berths in 2001-02 and 2002-03 before capping the run with an NCAA Tournament berth in 2003-04. The Tigers also continued sending players into the professional ranks as three-time All-Big 12 selection Evan Unrau was selected in the third round of the 2004 WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics.

The 2005-06 season was another banner year for the program as the Tigers went 21-10 for their second 20-win season of Stein's tenure, and made it back to the NCAA Tournament. Mizzou had two more players selected in the WNBA draft following the 2005-06 season as LaToya Bond was selected by the Charlotte Sting in the second round and Christelle N'Garsanet was taken in the third.

The 2006-07 Tigers gave Stein her sixth postseason win at Mizzou with a victory in the opening round of the WNIT. Stein coached Mizzou to the most postseason appearances and postseason wins in program history.

At Emporia State
Stein spent three seasons as the head coach at Emporia State prior to Mizzou, turning the Hornets from a sub-.500 team into a Division II national title contender. After going 12-14 in her first season at ESU in 1995-96, the Hornets improved to 20-10 the following season and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before going 33-1 and finishing as the national runner up in 1997-98.

The 1997-98 Hornets went 16-0 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, earning MIAA Regular Season and Tournament Championships in advance of the historic run to the NCAA Division II title game. Stein coached two-time All-Americans Aneta Kausaite and Jurgita Kausaite at Emporia State in addition to recruiting All-Americans Emily Bloss and Tara Holloway, who both went on to earn National Player of the Year honors. Aneta Kausaite eventually became the first-ever Division II player to play in the WNBA.

Following ESU's run to the 1997-98 title game, Stein was named the National Coach of the Year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, the Molten Division II Bulletin and the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association. She was also selected as the 1998 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year and the District VI Coach of the Year.

Early Career/Playing Career
Prior to her head coaching experience, Stein was an assistant coach at Illinois (1993-95), Bradley (1988-1993), Cincinnati (1987-88) and Miami University (1986-87). Stein began her foray into coaching as a graduate assistant at Central Michigan from 1984-86.

Stein played collegiately at Illinois from 1981-83 after two years at Illinois Central College from 1979-81. Stein helped the Illini to the 1982 NCAA Tournament, and she still holds several Illinois assists records. A junior college All-American, Stein also helped ICC to back-to-back appearances in the NJCAA national tournament.
Stein has a bachelor's degree in physical education from Illinois and a master's degree in physical education from Central Michigan.