Former Polar Bear and Pioneer Emily Stoller named next Glenville head coach
May 3—FAIRMONT — After immense success in high school, in college, and as an assistant coach, Emily Stoller is continuing her climb as the next head coach of the Glenville State women's basketball program, Glenville announced on Friday.
An assistant coach last season for the Pioneers, and one of the university's all-time greats during her playing days at Glenville State, Stoller arrives on the scene with the full endorsement of her predecessor Kim Stephens, who moves on from Glenville to take the Marshall University girls basketball head coaching job. Glenville went 191-24 during Stephens' seven years as head coach, including a 68-4 record over the past two years.
"Emily is going to be great for Glenville State University," Stephens said in a release by the university. "She has been a big part of the program since her playing career. I am beyond proud of her, and very excited to watch her as head coach," Stephens said. "She bleeds blue and loves Glenville as much as anyone. I have no doubt she will give everything she has to keep the winning tradition alive."
Glenville State certainly has had a culture of success, winning the D-II women's basketball championship in 2022 and making it to the championship stage once again in 2023. Stoller played for Glenville State from 2017-2020, and tallied 1494 points in only three seasons. She remains 12th on the school's All-Time list. Glenville was 87-10 during her three years as a player.
Emily— as well as her sister Abby, also a former Pioneer from 2018-2022— have played a big part in keeping Glenville State a national power.
"We are very excited about the hiring of Coach Stoller," Glenville President Mark Manchin said. "She is a true Pioneer. As natives of North Central West Virginia; Emily, Abby, and the entire Stoller Family have been a big part of Lady Pioneer Basketball. We are looking forward to next season and continuing this exciting brand of basketball."
Stoller is a Fairmont native, having attended Fairmont Senior High School, where she led the Polar Bears to their first state title game in 17 years as a senior in 2015.
Stoller averaged 18.5 points per game in her senior season, making first team all-state after being named all-state second team as a sophomore and junior.
"She's by far one of the most gifted players to come through the school," Fairmont Senior head coach Corey Hines said. "Excellent student, she was actually like a coach on the floor. She did a great job of making her teammates better.
"That's the thing with Emily that was one of the defining, most impressive things about her. She could score the basketball, but rebounding, leading our team in assist— she was one of those players that was a special combination."
Stoller's combination of skills extended beyond her abilities on the court, into how she communicated as a teammate and a friend.
"She was one of those players who was really effective at relaying the messages we wanted her to relay to her teammates," Hines said. "And she did it with a little bit of flair, we talked about this all the time, she'd put the mustard on the hotdog, that was her game. As a coach, you look back to those things, to have a player who wanted to have fun playing the game and have a little flair, that's something that made her special.
"And still, she was the first person in practice, the last person to leave. Worked really hard, and she would get on your nerves about getting into the gym. During the season, during the offseason, she wanted everybody to get in the gym and work on their skills[...] It is a balance when it comes to leadership, having fun and also being able to tell somebody "Hey, I need you to work a little bit harder." And she had that balance, and a lot of stuff got across to her teammates just from her leading by example."
Hines saw the balance Stoller had as a communicator, and said he was "not surprised at all" that Stoller ended up in the coaching ranks. Stoller was an assistant coach at Fairmont State in 2021-22, and an assistant at her alma mater Glenville State this past season.
"As a coach, you strive for situations where your players are able to achieve their dream," Hines said. "I call those "The trophies that never collects dust." In many cases, we can say Glenville is the best division two program in the nation over the last four or five years. They did an excellent job, and for her to take the reigns in a program like that, I think they were grooming her for that position because of how she was as a player and how she demonstrated her abilities as a coach."
Between her high school days at Fairmont Senior, her first foray into college ball at Cleveland State, transferring to Glenville State for her final three years of collegiate play, and playing professionally in Spain for one season, Stoller has accrued a wealth of experience, even without factoring in her years as an assistant coach at multiple programs. Now, the Fairmont native faces a new challenge, taking charge of a program with serious expectations— expectations that she helped set as a player and an assistant.
"I feel so unbelievably blessed for the amount of opportunities that Glenville has given me," Stoller said. "I am grateful to Coach Kim Stephens for being a great coach, mentor, and friend. I am also grateful to Coach Jesse Skiles for always believing in me as a player and a coach. Through my years here, the Glenville community has given me an overwhelming amount of support. I am beyond excited for this next chapter of our story...Let's get to work!"
Reach Nick Henthorn at 304-367-2548, on Twitter @nfhenthorn_135 or by email at nhenthorn@timeswv.com.
