During the 2004-05 offseason, UMBC promoted Katie Rokus to Recruiting Coordinator of the women’s basketball team as the up-and-coming coach returns for her fourth season with the Retrievers’ program.
Rokus, now in her second year as the team’s recruiting coordinator, has brought in three newcomers for the 2005-06 season, including New York State’s section III (Central New York) all-time leading scorer, a two-time Connecticut state champion, and a transfer student who was Southern Maryland’s Athletic Conference’s (SMAC) Most Outstanding Player in 2003.
Rokus began her tenure at UMBC in the summer of 2003 following her college graduation the previous spring. Since her initial start, she has performed admirably, handling duties of team travel, practice scheduling, camp coordination and academic supervision of the women's basketball program's student-athletes.
During Rokus' first season, the women's basketball team produced a 3.10 grade point average (GPA) with five of the Retrievers' 10 players earning above a 3.0 GPA overall in 2003-04, five earning above a 3.0 in the Spring 2004 semester and one earning a perfect 4.0. During the 2004-05 academic year, the Retrievers increased their GPA to a 3.2 and have held over a 3.0 GPA all three years of Rokus’ tenure.
The UMBC squad with Rokus’ oversight, improved even more during the 2005-06 season, setting the highest GPA among America East Conference schools for women’s basketball with a 3.25 gpa. Furthermore, UMBC won the Retriever Cup, given to the top UMBC program based on the categories of GPA, community outreach, athletes supporting athletes and attendance at Sunday lectures.
Rokus, who is fluent in three languages, is very instrumental with on court instruction with her familiarity with head coach Phil Stern's system of play, having played three seasons of her four-year collegiate career under Stern at USC Aiken. The nearby St. John's College High School (Washington, D.C.) product was a guard for the Lady Pacers from 1999-2003 and was originally recruited by Stern.
Rokus enjoyed great success at USC Aiken, earning captain honors her senior year. The Lady Pacers went a combined 78-38 during her four years, advancing to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and capturing the school's first Peach Belt Conference regular season championship.
Rokus found just as much success academically, being named USC Aiken's Most Outstanding Senior Student at convocation. Rokus completed her academic career with a 3.88 GPA while writing for the Pacer Times, the campus newspaper, and she created a running behind-the-scenes journal through the basketball team's website.
Rokus was the salutatorian of her senior class at St. John's College High School and a two-sport athlete, playing basketball and soccer. Her team compiled a career record of 107-21 on the basketball court and a No. 16 national ranking her senior season.
Rokus holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from the University of South Carolina Aiken and graduated in May 2003. She currently resides in Baltimore, Md.
