Kayla Chloe Karius (, born April 9, 1989) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the current head coach of the Green Bay Phoenix women's basketball team. Prior to her return to Green Bay, she was the head coach at South Dakota from 2022 until 2024.
Early life and playing career A native of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Karius attended Sheboygan North High School where she was a first-team all-state selection in her senior year.
College career Karius played college basketball for the Green Bay Phoenix from 2007 to 2011. Kayla helped lead Green Bay to four Horizon League regular season titles with three NCAA Tournament bids. Of those three NCAA Tournament berths, Green Bay reached the 2nd round in 2010 and then their first ever Sweet 16 in 2011.
In Karius' 4-year career at Green Bay, Kayla scored 1,372 points and grabbed 675 rebounds, placing her on the school's Division 1 top-10 career all-time list for both categories.
In her final game with Green Bay, Karius notched a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds against the Baylor Bears in the Sweet 16 of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, also earning a spot on the NCAA Dallas All-Regional Team.
Kayla's Horizon League Honors at Green Bay: 2009 Sixth Player of the Year 2010 and 2011 First-Team 2010 and 2011 All-Tournament Team 2011 All-Defensive Team 2011 Co-Player of the Year (shared with Green Bay teammate Celeste Hoewisch) 2011 NCAA Tournament All-Regional Team 2011 Cecil N. Coleman Award Winner
Green Bay statistics Source
Year Team GP MPG Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007–08 Green Bay 26 15.3 121 51.9 37.5 77.3 3.1 0.9 0.7 0.2 4.7
2008–09 Green Bay 33 22.3 238 50.3 32.7 66.7 3.1 1.1 1.3 0.2 7.2
2009–10 Green Bay 33 32.1 501 55.9 42.6 80.5 6.5 2.8 1.5 0.7 15.2
2010–11 Green Bay 36 31.1 512 50.6 33.3 81.8 7.6 2.7 2.2 0.1 14.2
Career Green Bay 128 25.9 1372 52.4 33.3 78.6 5.3 1.9 1.5 0.3 10.7
Professional career Between 2011 and 2015, Karius played basketball professionally in Europe for Basket Waregem (Belgium), Basket Racing Club (Luxembourg), and Saarlouis Royals (Germany).
Coaching career On April 11, 2022, Karius was announced as the head coach of the South Dakota Coyotes women's basketball team. In her two seasons at South Dakota, the Coyotes had a record of 37–29 and appeared in the 2024 Women's National Invitation Tournament.
On April 23, 2024, Karius was named the fourth head coach in Green Bay Phoenix women's basketball program history.
In Kayla's first season at the helm, she guided the 2025 Green Bay team to a 29–6 overall record (19–1 conference), including a 22-game winning streak en route to winning both Horizon League regular season and tournament championships. It also marked the 20th time in school history to make the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. On March 15, 2025, Karius signed a 2-year contract extension with Green Bay that lasts into the 2030–31 season.
On April 15, 2026, Green Bay announced they had extended Kayla Karius through the 2034-35 season, the longest contract extension in college basketball at the time.
Head coaching record
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