Kristen Gillespie was introduced Tuesday, April 4, 2017, as the eighth Illinois State women’s head basketball coach at a press conference in the Hancock Stadium Club. She enters her ninth year at the helm of the women's basketball program in 2025-2026.

Illinois State earned a fifth-straight postseason appearance and a third straight 20-win season under Gillespie in 2024-25, advancing to the WNIT Fab 4. Illinois State posted a 24-13 record and a 14-6 mark in MVC play, earning the program's fourth WNIT bid over the last four seasons. 

Gillespie reached a pair of career milestones during the 2024-25 campaign. She earned the 250th victory of her 14-year coaching career Jan. 26 at home against Bradley. The Redbirds win over Belmont Feb. 20 marked Gillespie's 150th at the helm of Illinois State, which ranks second in program history for wins by a Redbird head coach. 

After a 14-win season in MVC play last year, Gillespie sits at 98 career MVC wins, which ranks tenth in Valley history. She is two MVC wins shy of becoming just the tenth coach in league history to win 100 Valley games.  

The Redbirds posted an historic 2024-25 campaign on the offensive end of the floor. Illinois State ranked fourth in NCAA Division I and led the MVC with a 48.8 percent team field goal percentage, a mark that ranks third in program history. The Redbirds also ranked fourth in NCAA DI shooting 38.5 percent from behind the arc, leading the Valley and ranking third in program history. The Redbirds set a program record with 252 total three pointers. Illinois State ranked 32nd in NCAA DI averaging 76.0 points per game and scored a mark of 2,812 total points during the 2024-25 campaign that set a program record and ranks fourth in MVC history. 

Four Redbirds earned MVC honors during the 2024-25 campaign, highlighted by Shannon Dowell's selection to the All-MVC Second team. Elyce Knudsen and Addison Martin landed on the All-MVC Newcomer team while Doneelah Washington earned All-MVC Freshman team honors. Knudsen and Martin combined for eight MVC Newcomer of the Week honors, including's Knudsen's league-leading five selections. Washington earned three MVC Freshman of the Week selections. 

The Redbirds earned their fourth-straight postseason appearance and second-straight 20-win season in 2023-2024. Illinois State finished with a 22-12 overall record and 13-7 mark in MVC play while earning a WNIT bid for the third time in four seasons. The Redbirds advanced in the post season for the first time since 2013 with a Second-Round WNIT win over Charleston at CEFCU Arena, where the Redbirds hosted postseason basketball for the first time since 2013.

Illinois State went 14-2 inside CEFCU Arena in 2023-2024, winning 10 straight home games at one point during the 2023-2024 campaign. Illinois State finished tied for the second most home wins in a single season in program history, as the campaign marked the seventh time in program history that Illinois State has won 13-plus home games in a single season. The 2023-2024 squad is just the second team in program history to win 13-plus home games in the regular season, joining the 2010-11 team that holds the school record with 17 home wins. 

DeAnna Wilson earned All-MVC Second Team honors for the Redbirds, while Kate Bullman took home All-MVC Defensive Team honors and Shannon Dowell earned All-MVC Freshman team honors, highlighting the individual honors for the Redbirds. Wilson earned three MVC Player of the Week honors, and was the first player in the Valley to earn three MVC Player of the Week honors on the year. Meanwhile Dowell earned a pair of MVC Freshman of the Week honors. 

Her sixth season at Illinois State saw the program's first-ever Missouri Valley Conference regular season title since 2010, Illinois State finished the 2022-23 season with a 24-9 (17-3) record, winning the MVC regular season title and advancing to the WNIT for the second time in three years. Gillespie was named the 2022-23 MVC Coach of the Year, becoming the first MVC Coach of the Year in program history since Stephanie Glance was awarded the honor in 2012.

Gillespie led the Redbirds to 24 wins, including 17 in MVC play, which is the most wins in a season in her six years in Normal and the most MVC wins for the Redbirds in a season since 1984-85 under Jill Hutchinson & Melinda Fischer (17-1). As part of her 24 wins, Gillespie surpassed a pair of career milestones: capturing her 200^th career victory as a college basketball coach on Jan. 5 at Missouri State before collecting win no. 100 at ISU on Jan. 22 inside CEFCU Arena. The 24 wins for ISU under Gillespie also stand as the most wins for any Redbird women's basketball program in a season since 2012-13 when the 'Birds finished 24-11 under then-head coach Stephanie Glance.

Graduate guard Paige Robinson made the most of her single season in Normal, finishing the year being named the 2022-23 MVC Jackie Stiles Player of the Year, MVC Newcomer of the Year, All-MVC Newcomer Team, and All-MVC First Team. Robinson would also become the first-ever WNBA draft pick for the Redbirds when she was selected in the third round of the 2023 WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings. Mary Crompton concluded her illustrious ISU career by becoming the first player in program history to be awarded Academic All-American First Team honors, marking her second straight season as an Academic All-American, as well as repeated success as the back-to-back MVC Scholar Athlete of the Year. DeAnna Wilson was named to the All-MVC Second Team following yet another successful season at ISU. Junior Kate Bullman was awarded a spot on the All-MVC Defensive Team as well. 

Gillespie guided Illinois State to its sixth-ever appearance at the NCAA Tournament in 2022, as Illinois State won the MVC Tournament title as a four-seed to punch their ticket to the big dance for the first time in 14 years. Illinois State finished the 2021-22 season with a 19-14 (12-6 MVC) record. At the NCAA Tournament, #15 Illinois State took on No. 2 Iowa on their home court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, playing in front of a sold-out crowd of over 15,000 fans.

Fifth year JuJu Redmond was named the Most Outstanding Player at the Hoops in the Heartland MVC Tournament, capping off her illustrious career as a three-time All-MVC honoree. Mary Crompton became just the second Redbird in program history to earn the distinction of an Academic All-American, also being crowned the MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and winner of its Elite 17 Award. DeAnna Wilson continued to thrive in her second season at ISU, being selected with Redmond to the All-MVC First Team while also joining her on the MVC All-Tournament Team. Gillespie has coached eight Redbirds to All-MVC First Team nods in her five seasons with ISU, five of which have come in the last three years.

Gillespie guided Illinois State to its first postseason berth in eight years during the 2020-21 campaign, leading the Redbirds (16-9, 12-6 MVC) to an appearance in the WNIT. In the tournament, which was condensed from 64 to 32 teams and played at four regional sites due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Redbirds also earned their first postseason win since the 2012-13 season with a 68-62 victory over Samford to make it to the Memphis Region Consolation Final.

After being picked fifth in the MVC Preseason Poll, the 2020-21 Redbirds finished third overall in the conference standings, ISU’s highest finish in Coach Gillespie’s tenure and for the program since 2013.  The 2020-21 squad ended the year with a NET ranking (replaced RPI) of 60 (ISU's highest ranking since 2010), with four players earning All-MVC honors: Mary Crompton (MVC’s Most Improved Player, All-MVC Honorable Mention), JuJu Redmond (All-MVC First Team), Terrion Moore (All-MVC Defensive Team, All-MVC Newcomer Team) and DeAnna Wilson (All-MVC Newcomer Team).

The Redbirds put together their best season in recent years during the 2019-20 campaign, going 19-10 (11-7 MVC) and finishing with a RPI of 74. Illinois State earned its first Power Five win since 2013 in their 74-58 victory over Illinois at the State Farm Center on Nov. 16, as well as its first win over a ranked opponent in 28 years on Feb. 27 in the 78-66 defeat of No. 17/21 Missouri State at Redbird Arena. Gillespie coached four All-MVC honorees, including two All-MVC First Team members, an All-Defensive Team player and her third-straight MVC Newcomer of the Year in JuJu Redmond. Redmond also picked up All-MVC Honorable Mention and MVC Sixth Player of the Year recognitions. The 'Birds finished fourth in the conference standings, the third-straight year that Gillespie's team has finished better than their MVC Preseason Poll prediction, and were on a four-game winning streak entering the MVC Tournament. Unfortunately, the conference tournament and all other postseason tournaments were canceled due to concerns over the coronavirus (COVID-19), ending the 2019-20 season prematurely.

Illinois State continued to improve in Gillespie's second season, finishing with a 19-12 (11-7 MVC) record, with one of those conference wins coming at Missouri State, who went on to appear in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 in the postseason. The Redbirds made it to the semifinals of the MVC Tournament for the first time in five years, garnered MVC Newcomer of the Year honors for the second consecutive season and had two 'Birds make the MVC First Team All-Conference list. 

In her first year at the helm of the program Gillespie guided the Redbirds to the most successful season the program has seen in five years. The Redbirds finished with a 14-16 overall record and secured a No. 6 seed for the Hoops in the Heartland tournament as they finished with an 8-10 conference record. Gillespie coached three MVC All-Conference honorees and her 2018-19 recruiting class was named the strongest in the Valley and top 75 in the nation by PASS.

Gillespie came to Illinois State after leading Lewis University to a 51-12 record over the past two seasons, including a pair of trips to the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament and one appearance in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship game. In her first season in Romeoville, Illinois, the Flyers won the GLVC East Division with a record of 18-0, which led Gillespie to be selected as the 2016 GLVC Coach of the Year, the WBCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year and the IBCA Division II Coach of the Year.

“I am beyond excited and extremely humbled to be named the next head coach at Illinois State,” Gillespie said. “I have a full understanding of the rich tradition that surrounds Redbird basketball and the Missouri Valley Conference. From day one, it will be our focus to surround every action with championship-level effort. We will succeed on the court, in the community and in the classroom. My staff and I will welcome the challenge of building Illinois State into an MVC power once again. Our program will play a fundamentally-sound style, predicated on unselfishness and unmatched work ethic. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity that President (Larry) Dietz, Larry Lyons and Leanna Bordner have given me. I am eager to get to work and reestablish the winning culture here at Illinois State.”

Prior to her time at Lewis, Gillespie coached four seasons at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. In her final year in 2015, she guided the Eagles to an 18-10 record.

Before coaching at Benedictine, Gillespie spent two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at UIC from 2009-11, but her formative basketball acumen was developed at North Carolina State under legendary head coach Kay Yow.

Gillespie was a four-year letterwinner and three-year captain for the Wolfpack from 1996-99. As a junior, she was NC State's starting point guard on the 1998 NCAA Final Four squad, and she was also selected as an Honorable Mention Academic All-American the following year as a senior.

Upon her graduation, Gillespie had brief stops as an assistant coach at both UCF (1999-2000) and UC Santa Barbara (2000-02), before returning to Raleigh, North Carolina, to pursue her master’s degree at NC State as a graduate assistant under Yow. During her tenure, the Wolfpack not only advanced to the NCAA Tournament, but Gillespie played a key role in recruiting a Top-20 recruiting class in 2004.

Once she received her master’s degree, Gillespie spent two years as a high school head coach at Maclay School (2005-07) in Tallahassee, Florida, before returning to Raleigh for a third time to join Yow’s staff as an assistant coach and co-recruiting coordinator. In 2008, NC State went 21-13 and advanced to the WNIT Final Four. In that short span, Gillespie coached five players who played professionally, including a WNBA First Round draft pick, and she recruited the 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Rookie of the Year.

She and her wife, Brittany, were married in 2017 and are the parents of a son and a daughter, Beckett and Emerson.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT KRISTEN GILLESPIE
Debbie Antonelli | ESPN College Basketball Analyst
"I've always considered and respected the MVC as a ‘coaches league.’ Kristen will add to the league's strengths with her work ethic, her ability to skill develop and efforts to recruit talented, high-character young women. Kristen has a blueprint for success, which includes recruiting, planning and preparing your team in practice and game adjusting. Kristen has done these things in the rebuilding process in her stops prior to coaching at Division III and Division II hoops. Congrats to Kristen and Illinois State.”

Stephanie Glance | Executive Director, Kay Yow Cancer Fund
"Kristen Gillespie comes from a great pedigree in women’s basketball. She has had the opportunity to learn from one of women’s basketball’s legendary coaches, Kay Yow, both as a player and as an assistant coach. She also comes from a tremendous coaching legacy within her own family. She is poised and ready to take the next step in her own coaching career.”

Doug Bruno | Head Women’s Basketball Coach, DePaul University
"Kristen Gillespie is a great Illinois State hire. Kristen has more than paid her dues to earn a job made great by Jill Hutchison and so many former ISU players and coaches. Serving as an assistant at UIC, UC Santa Barbara and NC State with Naismith Hall of Famer Kay Yow has totally helped shape and prepare Kristen. Unlike so many young coaches who believe they are 'entitled' to sit as Division I head coaches, Kristen Gillespie took on the challenge of head coaching in the trenches at DIII Benedictine University and DII Lewis University in order to earn the head job at ISU. Kristen Gillespie's coaching pedigree comes with even deeper coaching roots. Her dad, Mike, has been one of 'the best' high school, junior college and Division I men's coaches in the country. Kristen's grandfather, Gordie Gillespie, is the winningest collegiate baseball coach in college baseball history and led Joliet Catholic High School to multiple state football championships. Grandpa Gordie also started and coached the women's basketball program at College of St. Francis. Kristen Gillespie will be a great head coach who will embrace the challenge of returning Illinois State to the competitive standard created by Coach Hutchison."

Dr. John Planek | Athletics Director, Lewis University
"The Lewis Flyer community is excited to watch Coach Gillespie take the Redbirds to new heights!"

Bill Fennelly | Head Women’s Basketball Coach, Iowa State University
“Kristen is a great choice for Illinois State, as she is truly a rising star in the coaching profession. Kristen is a basketball lifer and has had great success in everything she has done on and off the court. Illinois State is a program that has a great tradition, and there is no question in my mind Kristen is the perfect coach for Redbird Nation!” 

Allison Guth | Head Women’s Basketball Coach, Loyola University Chicago
“I am thrilled for Mr. Lyons, for Illinois State and for Redbird Women's Basketball. Kristen Gillespie is a tireless recruiter who has a sincere passion for the game. Coach Gillespie's high-basketball IQ and commitment to teaching will immediately impact her program in a positive way. Redbird fans should be extremely excited knowing that their strong tradition of excellence will be felt immediately in the Missouri Valley Conference."