GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Assistant Vice President for Athletics David Wright has announced Nate Davis, head women's basketball coach at Eastern University, will take over the women's basketball program at Gettysburg College following the retirement of long-time mentor Mike Kirkpatrick.
"After an extensive national search, I am thrilled that Nate Davis emerged as an outstanding candidate to lead our women's basketball team here at Gettysburg College," said Wright. "The search committee was extremely impressed with his plan to continue the success of the Bullets women's basketball program and his desire to help the student-athletes reach their full potential."
Davis stood out from a large and outstanding candidate pool to become Gettysburg's 15th head women's basketball coach. Since 2010, he has guided the women's hoops program at Eastern, where he posted a record of 79-52 and twice was named Freedom Conference Coach of the Year (2012, 2015).
This past season, Davis guided the Eagles to a school-record 22 wins and the program's first-ever trip to the NCAA Division III Championship. Eastern defeated unbeaten and No. 1 FDU-Florham 88-87 in overtime during the regular season and capped the season ranked 24th in the D3hoops.com poll. Davis coached 11 all-conference performers, five all-region selections, and three All-America selections during his time at Eastern.
In addition to his basketball duties, Davis served as the first head coach of the women's golf program from 2011-13. In 2013, he was named the Middle Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year.
In 2013, Davis was named Director of Athletics and Athletic Development. As AD, he oversaw 16 intercollegiate athletic programs, managed the athletics budget, and coordinated all team schedules. He also worked closely with the Development and Alumni Offices in fundraising for athletics.
"I loved my student-athletes at Eastern and what we were able to accomplish," said Davis, who was named D3hoops Atlantic Region Coach of the Year this past season. "I owe a lot to Eastern. They gave me an opportunity five years ago. Leaving Eastern is the hardest thing about this new opportunity, but it's exciting to look forward to doing something special at Gettysburg."
Prior to Eastern, Davis was the assistant men's basketball coach at the University of South Carolina Aiken from 2005-10. He was also an assistant coach at Mansfield University from 2000-05.
Davis is a 1999 graduate of Mansfield where he played football and earned a degree in business administration. He went on to gain a master's in education from Mansfield. Davis was also a member of the United States Marine Corps prior to attending college.
Davis follows in the footsteps of Kirkpatrick, who announced his retirement in early April. Kirkpatrick spent 26 years at the head of the helm of the Bullets, guiding the team to its only conference title (2013) and three appearances in the NCAA playoffs. He left Gettysburg as the all-time wins leader with a career record of 379-271.
"Obviously the longevity of Coach K at Gettysburg speaks to a strong commitment to the institution," noted Davis. "The fact he was here as long as he was and had that success also speaks to the institution's ability to facilitate that success. I'm looking forward to not only representing the successful program he maintained, but also continuing to build on that success."
Gettysburg posted an overall record of 16-9 this past season, including 10-8 in the Centennial Conference. The team is set to return 11 letterwinners, including all-conference first-team and all-region second-team selection Jessica Porter '16 (Narberth, Pa./Lower Merion) and CC Rookie of the Year Emily Gibbons (Annapolis, Md./Severna Park).