Over the last few years, the landscape in collegiate athletics has been dramatically altered. Conference realignment, COVID-19, the transfer portal, and name, image and likeness deals have turned things topsy turvy.
But at the University of Maryland, for almost a quarter century, one thing that has remained constant is women’s head basketball coach Brenda Frese stalking the sidelines and winning lots of games.
“When I first came here and was this young, 30-something-year-old head coach trying to prove herself, I was really, at that time, just hoping I could get a contract extension,” Frese told WTOP. “I was not sure of how good or consistent I could be as a head coach, and to look back and even now, so like, just how many changes have evolved into our sport, and it really is very difficult to stay on top.”
Yet Frese has kept Maryland a consistent top 10-20 team seemingly every year. She is the winningest coach in school history and has a career winning percentage of 76.9%. As a point of reference, legendary former Duke men’s head coach Mike Krzyzewski won 76.6 % of his games during his Hall of Fame career.
The Terps, under Frese, have been a model of consistent excellence, making 16 straight NCAA Tournament appearances and 22 in her 24 seasons in College Park.
On Friday, No. 5 seed Maryland (23-8) takes on 12th-seeded Murray State (31-3) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. A season that began with a deep, talented roster and Final Four aspirations for the Terps quickly transformed into a short-handed, injury-depleted team that still managed to win 23 games.
Three starters and four of their top nine players virtually missed the entire season, all with knee injuries. As a result, Maryland is not seen a popular pick to go far in the tournament.
“No one’s going to feel sorry for you.” Frese said.
“Injuries are part of it, unfortunately, but I think just helping this group, this team, be really resilient through the adversity, I think basketball also teaches you a lot of life lessons, and that you’re going to have, you know, things not go the way that you envisioned. And what are you going to do? Are you going to give up, or are you going to fight?”
Whether it’s a very unlucky bad string of injuries or anything else thrown her way, Frese has always shown the ability to make adjustments, the mark of a great coach. Her demeanor, figure-it-out attitude and upbringing prepared her for the challenging world of college basketball.
“My mom and dad growing up in Iowa, those Midwestern roots, but I had a living example of two amazing parents that raised six children, worked two jobs,” Frese said. “My 86-year-old mother still works within the real estate business with my brother, so it’s all I got to watch.
“And what a beautiful thing to be able to have that imprinted at such a young age, and you’re not going to get anywhere in life if you don’t put in the work. It doesn’t come to you by luck,” she said. “You have to be able to have that work ethic to even be able to have a chance to be able to compete.”
Home games at the Xfinity Center in College Park have always been a family affair for the Freses. Frese’s husband, Mark Thomas, and their twin sons, Markus and Tyler, are omnipresent at games, engaging supporters and cheering on the Terps.
In February, the twins celebrated their 18th birthdays. When he was two, Tyler was diagnosed with Leukemia, a life-changing moment for the entire family.
“It paused me in my tracks, where I think I was so driven through my work that at two-and-a-half when he was diagnosed, it really does make you pause of how important each and every day is, and there are no guarantees,” Frese said. “So I think that reflection really helped me to probably have better balance within my life.”
Like most uber successful coaches, Frese is not one to harken back to yesteryear but she had little choice in January when the school celebrated the 20th anniversary of their 2006 national championship season.
“There’s very few times where you get to kind of pause and reflect and celebrate, and to be able to have them all come back and be in the same room and have your players and your staff and support staff from 20 years ago, and then the stories and memories that were shared were just invaluable and just continues again to reinforce why you do what you do,” Frese said.
When conversations and debates come up about the greatest coaches in the D.C.-area’s rich basketball history, Maryland’s Gary Williams, Georgetown’s John Thompson and DeMatha High School’s Morgan Wootten always come up.
But Frese, a two-time national coach of the year, is rarely mentioned despite her stellar resume that includes 14 conference championships, 12 Sweet Sixteens, seven Elite Eights, three Final Fours and one NCAA championship.
Next year will mark her 25th season at Maryland. Someday, in the not too distant future, Frese will undoubtedly be enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame joining Williams, Thompson and Wootten.
“I haven’t really given that any thought. So, that just seems like something really far out there,” Frese said. “I’ve never been in it for those kind of awards and accolades. I’m most proud of the recognition of consistency that we did this at a really high level. And that probably is what keeps me up at night. I just want to keep Maryland at the highest point we can possibly be, and I think the rest of it takes care of itself.”
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