GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) — As a player, Meghan Pingel always saw the court well - leading UW-Green Bay in assists three straight seasons from 2020-22.
Now, she'll use that court vision from the sidelines as she joins the Phoenix as an assistant coach.
Pingel, a Sun Prairie native, played at Green Bay from 2016-22. After spending parts of the last year playing overseas in Ireland and working foster care in Nebraska, she now reunites with her former coach, Kevin Borseth, and many of her former teammates.
One of Pingel's key roles will be acting as a "bridge" between the coaches and players.
"Being close to the players is really good because they need to have someone these players can relate to a little bit," Borseth said.
"I've been there," Pingel added. "I've been in a lot of these different scenarios that they're in. So I feel like I can relate to them on a lot of different levels."
And so far, her former teammates have embraced her with open arms.
"I think it's awesome," junior guard Cassie Schiltz said. "I love Meghan Pingel. I got to play with her, I got to watch her lead this team. We're lucky and fortunate to have her back."
The Phoenix open their season Wednesday night with an exhibition against UW-Stout. The regular season opener is November 6 at Northern Iowa.
Green Bay is chasing its second consecutive regular season Horizon League championship; they return nearly every key player from last year's team that finished second in the Horizon League Championship, one win shy of a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
