Staff Directory
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
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Kait Cresencia is entering her fourth season with the Lehigh women’s basketball program in 2025-26 and her second as the associate head coach—a title she earned in September 2024 following two standout seasons with the Mountain Hawks.
Cresencia’s leadership helped elevate Lehigh to new heights in 2024-25, guiding the team to the Patriot League Championship and a regular season title. The Mountain Hawks racked up 27 wins—marking the third-highest total in program history—and solidified their status as a powerhouse in the league.
Under her guidance, Lehigh saw three players earn All-Patriot League recognition: Maddie Albrecht (First Team), Ella Stemmer (Second Team), and Belle Bramer (All-Rookie). Albrecht also made history as the first Mountain Hawk to be named to both the All-Patriot League First Team and All-Defensive Team in the same season—capping her stellar campaign with a spot on the Patriot League All-Academic Team and recognition from College Sports Communicators for academic excellence.
Known for her sharp basketball IQ, relentless work ethic, and commitment to developing high-character student-athletes, Cresencia continues to shape a culture of excellence at Lehigh—on and off the court.
Maddie Albrecht earned third team All-Patriot League honors under Cresencia's guidance in 2023-24. Albrecht also excelled in the classroom, as she earned College Sports Communicatiors Academic All-District and Academic All-Patriot League honors.In her first season with the Mountain Hawks, Cresencia guided Frannie Hottinger, Lehigh's first Patriot League Player of the Year since 2011 and coached Mackenzie Kramer who was Lehigh's first College Sports Communicators Academic All-American. Hottinger and Kramer were both first team All-Patriot League members and it marked the first time since 2010 that two Mountain Hawks were selected.
In February of 2023, was named to the WBCA's inaugural Next Generation Institute, which a new high-level education program for experienced assistant coaches who aspire to become head coaches at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels.
Cresencia joined the Lehigh staff following a season as an assistant coach at Quinnipiac University. She helped lead the Bobcats to a 21-12 overall record and a berth into the WNIT second round. Three players earned All-MAAC selections under Cresencia including Mackenzie DeWees (First Team), Mikala Morris (Second) and Jackie Grisdale (All-Rookie).
After being selected to participate in the WBCA's "So You Want to be a Coach" program in 2015, Cresencia got her start in coaching at Mercer University where she served as a Graduate Assistant for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. She later returned to Mercer as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. As a part of the Mercer staff, Cresencia helped guide the Bears to a pair of SoCon Tournament Championships and two NCAA Tournament berths.
At Mercer, she was responsible for coaching the forwards, which included a conference Player of the Year, three All-Conference players and three All-Tournament Players, along with an Academic All-American..
Before her time at Mercer, Cresencia worked at Princeton during the 2017-18 season in which the Tigers won the Ivy Tournament and earned a No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Throughout her time coaching, the student-athlete experience and preparation for life beyond sport has been a top priority. At Mercer, Cresencia was a member of Mercer MADE (Mobilizing Athletics for Diversity and Equality) and received her Inclusive Leader Certificate Training from Return on Inclusion in 2021. At Mercer, she also spearheaded Let's CHAT (Change Happening, Athletes Talking) where she organized and facilitated conversations among student-athletes from a variety of varsity teams. She created "Big Picture" a curriculum of life-skills programming, which she began at Mercer and continued to execute at Quinnipiac. At Lehigh, Cresencia is a member of the Life after Lehigh working group.
The New Jersey native played at Connecticut Colllege, where she was a four-year letterwinner and team captain. Cresencia earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Connecticut College in 2015, a Masters in Educational Leadership from Mercer in 2016, and was recognized as a WBCA Thirty Under 30 Honoree in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. Cresencia is also an active member of the WBCA and has presented four times at the conference.
