West Chester University alum, Allison Hostetter was named West Chester University women's basketball assistant coach in August 2015, becoming the full-time assistant for head coach Kiera Wooden.
Hostetter, a 2012 graduate of West Chester University, stepped into Wooden's previous position that she held for the past decade under legendary former head coach Deirdre Kane. She returned to West Chester following two seasons as an assistant coach at Holy Family University.
Last winter, "Hoss" helped the Golden Rams capture the PSAC Eastern Division title and reach the NCAA Tournament. West Chester finished 21-8 overall during the campaign.
Hoss joined a West Chester squad that finished the 2014-15 slate with an overall record of 19-9, including a 13-3 record in conference play. That season, the Golden Rams were selected as the No. 1 seed in the PSAC Eastern Division preseason coaches' poll.
In addition to helping run the Golden Ram offense and tutor the latest group of Golden Ram guards, Hostetter also plays a major role in the Golden Rams recruiting efforts.
Most recently, “Hoss” helped the Golden Rams capture a share of their first PSAC Eastern Division Title since the 2018 season, reach the NCAA Tournament as a three-seed (the team’s highest seed in the Tournament since it expanded to 64 teams in 2003) before helping the Golden Rams capture their first NCAA Tournament victory in 20 years and eventually advance to the Regional Final for the first time in program history. Under her guidance, the West Chester offense put forth its most prolific season in the team’s DII history, scoring over 2,400 points (2,402), averaging 72.8 points per game, which is ninth most in the team’s DII history. West Chester shot a blistering 44.2 % from the field in this historic season, which ranks second best in the team’s single-season DII history, while also turning in the best free-throw shooting effort (77.2 %) in team DII history.
Hoss has played an integral role in the development of 2022-23 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Honorable Mention All-American guard Leah Johnson, who also broke the single-game scoring record in the NCAA Tournament with a 44-point performance against California (Pa.) in the Round of 64. Johnson is one of multiple All-American guards whom Hoss has worked with at WCU as she along with Wooden also helped mentor another WBCA All-American in Dallas Ely.
In recent seasons, Hoss has helped Wooden engineer an impressive turnaround for the Purple and Gold, helping guide West Chester to a 24-win season this past winter, which is tied for the second most wins in a single-campaign and just one win shy of the 25-win season in 1991-92, which remains the school record. Hoss has helped West Chester enjoy three winning seasons in the last five years along with a pair of 20+-win seasons in both 2017-18 (23) and 2022-23 (24).
Hostetter began her coaching career as an assistant at Holy Family. In her first season, she helped the Tigers to a 28-3 overall record and a run to the NCAA Division II East Region semifinals.
The opportunity was a learning experience for Hostetter as she gained valuable insight on how to approach the game, while also adding an additional perspective on how to game plan. Furthermore, she gained exposure to a new system other than the one she played in during her years with Deirdre Kane.
During her coaching career, Hostetter has mentored two All-Americans in Holy Family's Erica Mann and West Chester's Dallas Ely. Both of West Chester's all-time leading scorers learned under Hostetter as well (Brittany Sicinski and Dallas Ely).
During her four-year playing career (2008-12) for the Golden Rams, Hostetter appeared in 113 games and totaled 1,199 career points, grabbed 729 rebounds, dished out 360 assists and created 235 steals.
Hostetter's contributions played a significant role in West Chester's NCAA tournament berth in 2012. For her performance on the court, she was recognized as a two-time All-PSAC selection, including first team all-league her senior year and second-team honors her junior season for the Golden Rams.
Hostetter became the 16th player in WCU history to eclipse 1,000 career points, while also finishing in the Top 10 in four different categories in the record book. She claimed fourth place on the school's all-time assist chart with 360, is fifth in steals (235), seventh in boards (729) and ninth overall in scoring (1,199).
To this day, Hostetter remains the only guard in West Chester women's basketball history to lead the team in rebounding in a single season with 254 in 2010-11.
Hostetter graduated from West Chester University with a bachelor's degree in Professional Liberal Studies in 2012.
The slogan #GR4L, which stands for Golden Ram for Life, epitomizes the family atmosphere which this program provides and is something in which Hoss greatly believes.
Coming back to the Golden Rams' family is something that she cherishes, especially because the University is close to her hometown of Oxford, Pa.
The goal is to provide student-athletes with the same experience she had at West Chester, while continuing the great program success that coaches Deirdre Kane and Kiera Wooden have built.
