Penn women's basketball assistant coach Chris Day announced as head coach at Vermont

Fresh of an Ivy title-winning campaign in 2015-16, Penn women's basketball is going to have to reshape its staff for next season.

Earlier Wednesday, assistant coach Chris Day was announced as the new head coach at Vermont, the first head coaching for the West Chester alum.

"It's a great opportunity for him, I think it's well-deserved," head coach Mike McLaughlin said. "He's prepared, he's ready. I think it just really shows that program is moving in the right direction. I think that when one of your assistants becomes a head coach that it's really a positive thing."

Day, an assistant at Penn since 2013, served previously as both a football and women’s basketball assistant at Widener before stops at Saint Joseph’s, Duquesne, La Salle and Indiana. He could not be reached for comment on his new position.

The Catamounts struggled to a 9-21 record and eighth place finish in the America East conference last season, and Day will look to bring home the program's first winning season since 2009-10. Following the losing campaign, Vermont let go Lori Gear McBride, who had been at the helm for the Catamounts since 2010.

"We developed a good rapport, a good trust," McLaughlin added. "He's a lot of fun to be around. He knows the game — I've learned a lot off of him and I hope he feels the same for me. We'll be friends and colleagues forever. I'm really proud of him — and I told him that. I think it's a great thing for him and his family and I think it's a great thing for Penn basketball."

At Penn, Day has been a part of two Ivy title-winning teams and the program’s first-ever Big 5 title. Working primarily with the team’s forward, Day has coached Sydney Stipanovich to three straight Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year honors in addition the 2016 Player of the Year award.

McLaughlin will begin the process of hiring a new assistant immediately, hoping to find a replacement within the next few weeks.

"I think we're in a good position here," McLaughlin noted. "I think we've positioned ourselves that this is an attractive spot. … So I think our applicant pool will be pretty strong. I'm comfortable that's going to fit the exact same way that we've done it."

Among the leading contenders for the position will likely be William and Mary assistant coach Kelly Killion. Killion, who played for McLaughlin at Holy Family from 2004-08, also served as an assistant at Penn for two years before departing for Sacred Heart. She arrived at William and Mary in 2013, where she has worked primarily with the guards.

"I want someone in this process that wants to come in here and it doesn't take any time for them to learn," McLaughlin explained of his process. "Someone that I trust and that I have a lot of trust in. This thing needs to continue to go forward, and I don't want to do anything but do that. I want to move forward, so it will be someone that's ready, someone that's comfortable — that I'm comfortable with her or him and he's comfortable with me so we can just continue to grow."

Though Killion has more experience with guards than forwards, she checks a number of McLaughlin’s boxes as he looks to replace Day. In the coming days, McLaughlin will start bringing in a number of potential candidates as he looks to quickly fill the vacancy.

Even as Day departs for New England, there always remains the chance that he may see his old colleagues on the court again — just on the other bench.

"I told him, if he wants to do a home-and-home — two homes here — we're on," McLaughlin laughed.

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