Women's Basketball
Holsinger, Brian
Brian Holsinger
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- brian.holsinger@mso.umt.edu
- Phone:
- 243-5334
The 2024-25 season is Brian Holsinger’s fourth year as head coach of the Montana women’s basketball program. He was hired in April 2021 after previously serving as the associate head coach at Oregon State.
In his first year with the Lady Griz, Holsinger led Montana to 19 wins, a seven-win improvement over the previous season, and a tie for fourth in the Big Sky Conference standings, exceeding preseason projections.
It was Montana’s third year under Holsinger that the Lady Griz showed their most dramatic improvement, winning 23 games last season and advancing to a postseason national tournament for the first time since 2014-15.
It was a season full of milestones, winning 20 games for the first time since 2015-16, a Big Sky tournament game for the first time since 2018, 10 true road games for the first time in 15 years and finishing second in the nation in 3-point shooting (10.8/g).
Montana went 13-5 in league to finish in third place, defeated Idaho in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament, was selected to the WNIT and defeated Boise State 92-66 in the first round, the program’s first national tournament win since 2014.
Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw was voted the Big Sky Conference Newcomer of the Year, Gina Marxen the Top Reserve, the first time a Lady Griz won either of those awards in more than two decades.
Carmen Gfeller was voted first-team All-Big Sky, Espenmiller-McGraw and Dani Bartsch second team, giving Montana three All-Big Sky selections for the first time since 2008-09.
Montana made 357 3-pointers in 2023-24, smashing the previous program record of 239, made 19 in a home win over Sacramento State and had the fifth-most for a season in Big Sky history.
Holsinger coached Gfeller and Sophia Stiles to All-Big Sky honors in his first season, Gfeller and Sammy Fatkin to All-Big Sky honors in 2022-23, the same season Mack Konig was voted the Big Sky Freshman of the Year, the first Lady Griz to win that award since 2005-06.
Holsinger enters his fourth year at Montana with a record of 56-37, 35-21 in Big Sky games.
Holsinger has been coaching at the collegiate level for more than two decades, with 13 of those years spent in the Pac-12, eight at Washington State, five at Oregon State.
He is just the fourth Lady Griz coach since the program moved under the intercollegiate athletics umbrella in the late 70s, following Robin Selvig, Shannon Schweyen and Mike Petrino.
Holsinger, born in Republic, Wash., and a 1994 graduate of Federal Way High, began his coaching career shortly after graduating from Western Washington in 1999 when he accepted an assistant position at The Master’s College.
He would spend six seasons (1999-2000 to 2004-05) at the Santa Clarita, Calif., school, helping the Mustangs win 132 games and advance to NAIA national tournaments in 2001, ’03 and ’05.
He spent the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons as the head coach at Montana Tech in Butte. The Orediggers went from 6-23 in Holsinger’s first year to 16-13 in his second.
Montana Tech broke into the NAIA top 25 in January 2007 for the first time in program history.
Holsinger joined June Daugherty’s staff at Washington State prior to the 2007-08 season as Daugherty, formerly the head coach at Washington, began the process of turning around a program that had gone 8-100 in the Pac-10 over the previous six seasons.
By Year 7 under Daugherty and Holsinger, the Cougars were 9-9 in league and winning 17 games overall, four over ranked opponents.
That season, 2013-14, ended in the WNIT, with Washington State losing an opening-round game at Montana. It was WSU’s first national tournament appearance since the 1990-91 season.
In Holsinger’s final year at Washington State, in 2014-15, the Cougars again won 17 games, two over ranked opponents, and again made the WNIT.
Holsinger was elevated to associate head coach for his final two seasons on Daugherty’s staff.
After taking the 2015-16 season off from coaching, Holsinger returned to the profession when he joined coach Scott Rueck’s staff at Oregon State prior to the 2016-17 season, the summer after the Beavers advanced to the 2016 Final Four.
Oregon State won 31 games and its third consecutive Pac-12 regular-season title in Holsinger’s first year and advanced to the Sweet 16.
The Beavers won 26 games in 2017-18, tied for third in the Pac-12 at 14-4 and made the Elite Eight. They returned to the Sweet 16 in 2018-19 after finishing third in the Pac-12.
Oregon State was sitting on 23 wins when the 2019-20 season was canceled in March of that year. In Holsinger’s final year in Corvallis, the Beavers lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Final Four qualifier South Carolina.
Holsinger’s wife, Stacey, played soccer for two years at Gonzaga before completing her collegiate career at The Master’s College, where she was a National Christian College Athletic Association second-team All-American as a senior.
The Holsingers have two daughters, Brooklyn and Quinn, and a son, Kellen.
In his first year with the Lady Griz, Holsinger led Montana to 19 wins, a seven-win improvement over the previous season, and a tie for fourth in the Big Sky Conference standings, exceeding preseason projections.
It was Montana’s third year under Holsinger that the Lady Griz showed their most dramatic improvement, winning 23 games last season and advancing to a postseason national tournament for the first time since 2014-15.
It was a season full of milestones, winning 20 games for the first time since 2015-16, a Big Sky tournament game for the first time since 2018, 10 true road games for the first time in 15 years and finishing second in the nation in 3-point shooting (10.8/g).
Montana went 13-5 in league to finish in third place, defeated Idaho in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament, was selected to the WNIT and defeated Boise State 92-66 in the first round, the program’s first national tournament win since 2014.
Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw was voted the Big Sky Conference Newcomer of the Year, Gina Marxen the Top Reserve, the first time a Lady Griz won either of those awards in more than two decades.
Carmen Gfeller was voted first-team All-Big Sky, Espenmiller-McGraw and Dani Bartsch second team, giving Montana three All-Big Sky selections for the first time since 2008-09.
Montana made 357 3-pointers in 2023-24, smashing the previous program record of 239, made 19 in a home win over Sacramento State and had the fifth-most for a season in Big Sky history.
Holsinger coached Gfeller and Sophia Stiles to All-Big Sky honors in his first season, Gfeller and Sammy Fatkin to All-Big Sky honors in 2022-23, the same season Mack Konig was voted the Big Sky Freshman of the Year, the first Lady Griz to win that award since 2005-06.
Holsinger enters his fourth year at Montana with a record of 56-37, 35-21 in Big Sky games.
Holsinger has been coaching at the collegiate level for more than two decades, with 13 of those years spent in the Pac-12, eight at Washington State, five at Oregon State.
He is just the fourth Lady Griz coach since the program moved under the intercollegiate athletics umbrella in the late 70s, following Robin Selvig, Shannon Schweyen and Mike Petrino.
Holsinger, born in Republic, Wash., and a 1994 graduate of Federal Way High, began his coaching career shortly after graduating from Western Washington in 1999 when he accepted an assistant position at The Master’s College.
He would spend six seasons (1999-2000 to 2004-05) at the Santa Clarita, Calif., school, helping the Mustangs win 132 games and advance to NAIA national tournaments in 2001, ’03 and ’05.
He spent the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons as the head coach at Montana Tech in Butte. The Orediggers went from 6-23 in Holsinger’s first year to 16-13 in his second.
Montana Tech broke into the NAIA top 25 in January 2007 for the first time in program history.
Holsinger joined June Daugherty’s staff at Washington State prior to the 2007-08 season as Daugherty, formerly the head coach at Washington, began the process of turning around a program that had gone 8-100 in the Pac-10 over the previous six seasons.
By Year 7 under Daugherty and Holsinger, the Cougars were 9-9 in league and winning 17 games overall, four over ranked opponents.
That season, 2013-14, ended in the WNIT, with Washington State losing an opening-round game at Montana. It was WSU’s first national tournament appearance since the 1990-91 season.
In Holsinger’s final year at Washington State, in 2014-15, the Cougars again won 17 games, two over ranked opponents, and again made the WNIT.
Holsinger was elevated to associate head coach for his final two seasons on Daugherty’s staff.
After taking the 2015-16 season off from coaching, Holsinger returned to the profession when he joined coach Scott Rueck’s staff at Oregon State prior to the 2016-17 season, the summer after the Beavers advanced to the 2016 Final Four.
Oregon State won 31 games and its third consecutive Pac-12 regular-season title in Holsinger’s first year and advanced to the Sweet 16.
The Beavers won 26 games in 2017-18, tied for third in the Pac-12 at 14-4 and made the Elite Eight. They returned to the Sweet 16 in 2018-19 after finishing third in the Pac-12.
Oregon State was sitting on 23 wins when the 2019-20 season was canceled in March of that year. In Holsinger’s final year in Corvallis, the Beavers lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Final Four qualifier South Carolina.
Holsinger’s wife, Stacey, played soccer for two years at Gonzaga before completing her collegiate career at The Master’s College, where she was a National Christian College Athletic Association second-team All-American as a senior.
The Holsingers have two daughters, Brooklyn and Quinn, and a son, Kellen.
| BRIAN HOLSINGER AT A GLANCE | ||||||
| PERSONAL | ||||||
| Hometown | Republic, Wash. | |||||
| Education | Western Washington, 1999 | |||||
| Family | Wife: Stacey Daughters: Brooklyn and Quinn; Son: Kellen |
|||||
| COACHING RESUME | ||||||
| Years | School, Position | |||||
| 1999-2005 | The Master’s College, Assistant Coach | |||||
| 2005-07 | Montana Tech, Head Coach | |||||
| 2007-15 | Washington State, Assistant Coach/Associate Head Coach | |||||
| 2016-21 | Oregon State, Assistant Coach/Associate Head Coach | |||||
| 2021-Present | Montana, Head Coach | |||||
| COACHING HISTORY | ||||||
| Year | School | Record | Conf. Record | Conf. Finish | Postseason | |
| 1999-2000 | The Master’s College | 16-15 | n/a | n/a | NCCAA Playoffs | |
| 2000-01 | The Master’s College | 26-3 | n/a | n/a | NAIA Tournament | |
| 2001-02 | The Master’s College | 19-14 | 11-9 | n/a | ||
| 2002-03 | The Master’s College | 25-8 | 14-6 | n/a | NAIA Tournament | |
| 2003-04 | The Master’s College | 20-13 | 11-9 | t-5th | ||
| 2004-05 | The Master’s College | 26-6 | 17-3 | t-2nd | NAIA Tournament | |
| 2005-06 | Montana Tech | 6-23 | 2-12 | 8th | ||
| 2006-07 | Montana Tech | 16-13 | 4-10 | 6th | ||
| 2007-08 | Washington State | 5-25 | 2-16 | 10th | ||
| 2008-09 | Washington State | 11-19 | 4-14 | 8th | ||
| 2009-10 | Washington State | 8-22 | 3-15 | 9th | ||
| 2010-11 | Washington State | 8-23 | 6-12 | 8th | ||
| 2011-12 | Washington State | 13-20 | 5-13 | 11th | ||
| 2012-13 | Washington State | 11-20 | 6-12 | 8th | ||
| 2013-14 | Washington State | 17-17 | 9-9 | 7th | WNIT | |
| 2014-15 | Washington State | 17-15 | 7-11 | 7th | WNIT | |
| 2016-17 | Oregon State | 31-5 | 16-2 | 1st | NCAA Tournament (Round of 16) | |
| 2017-18 | Oregon State | 26-8 | 14-4 | t-3rd | NCAA Tournament (Round of 8) | |
| 2018-19 | Oregon State | 26-8 | 14-4 | 3rd | NCAA Tournament (Round of 16) | |
| 2019-20 | Oregon State | 23-9 | 10-8 | t-4th | NCAA Tournament canceled | |
| 2020-21 | Oregon State | 12-8 | 7-6 | 5th | NCAA Tournament (Round of 32) | |
| 2021-22 | Montana | 19-11 | 12-8 | t-4th | ||
| 2022-23 | Montana | 14-16 | 10-8 | 5th | ||
| 2023-24 | Montana | 23-10 | 13-5 | 3rd | WNIT (Round of 32) | |
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