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Women's Basketball Coaching Staff
 Brent Brase , Head Coach
Brase (pronounced BRA-zee) enters his third season at the helm of the women’s program. The team made huge strides during his initial season, improving the win total by seven games, setting six school records and instilling enthusiasm, passion and dedication into the program.
Brase, a 1990 Cornell graduate, spent 11 seasons coaching at Coe College (Iowa), where he left as the winningest coach in school history. Coe was 90-50 in Iowa Conference games his final seven seasons.
Before leading the Coe men’s basketball program, Brase served as an assistant men’s coach at both Cornell and Coe and as the head boys’ basketball coach at Anamosa (Iowa) High School. Brase helped guide the 1990-91 Kohawks to a south division tournament berth and the 1993-94 Rams to the Midwest Conference Championship and the NCAA Division III tournament. In two years at Anamosa, Brase compiled a record of 27-13 and was named Big Bend Coach of the Year in 1991-92.
Brase is a 1986 graduate of Wapsie Valley (Iowa) High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and secondary education from Cornell in 1990. He received a master’s degree in physical education from the University of Iowa in 1992.
Brase’s teams play stifling man-to-man defense and run on every make or miss. He has implemented defensive and offensive schemes to compliment one another by putting maximum pressure on the opponents for an entire game. In order to achieve this, his teams execute simple fundamentals at an extreme pace in practice — a pace their opponents haven’t trained for and cannot handle mentally and physically during the duration of a game.
Brase and his wife, Ann, a 1990 Cornell graduate, live in Mount Vernon with their three children: Ella (6), Owen (4) and Evan (2).
"A Message From Coach Brase"
Basketball is a unique tool in the educational process. My goal as a coach is to make basketball one of the most educational experiences in my players’ collegiate years. We want players who are committed to higher education, who have respect for what we believe in, who are positive representatives of the college and our basketball program and who have the ability and desire to compete for Iowa Conference and national championships.
It is our goal not only to have students graduate on time, but also provide them with experiences that go beyond basketball and the classroom. Experiences that will allow them to learn, mature and lead. We foster an environment that allows freedom for students to make decisions and the guidance for them to be able to make the right choices and to correct mistakes.
We believe that the ability to compete at an extraordinary level must be targeted in our recruiting efforts. We want players who have high expectations and a willingness to go after their dreams. The effort and attitude of an individual are just as important to us as their skills.
Our program is challenging and rewarding. We have high expectations for our team as people, students and players. The expectations of our staff will not only challenge students, but also serve to guide and support them.
After graduation, a basketball player is left with one thing from her involvement in a program – the “experience”. The “experience” refers to the lessons and values learned, the personal relationships that develop and being a part of something larger than herself. This is an awesome opportunity and one that is often hard to duplicate in other areas of life.
Thank you for taking a serious look at Cornell College and our women’s basketball program!
Coach Brase
Katie Green, Associate Head Coach
 Green begins her fourth season as assistant coach at Cornell and her second with Brent Brase’s program. She was also at Cornell from 2003-05. Green is a 1996 graduate of DeWitt Central (Iowa) High School, where she participated in volleyball, basketball and track.
Green received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and English from Luther in 2000. With Green as a four-year starter in basketball, the Norse won the 1998 Iowa Conference championship and twice advanced to the NCAA Tournament. After graduating, she remained at Luther as an assistant volleyball and basketball coach from 2000-03, helping to coach the basketball Norse to another IIAC title in 2001-02. Green, who resides in Coralville, received a master’s degree in sports psychology from the University of Iowa in 2005.
Rich Kroeze, Assistant Coach
 Kroeze (pronounced cruise) begins his second season as assistant coach at Cornell after spending the last three years building the girls’ basketball program at Clear Creek-Amana (Iowa) High School. Kroeze graduated from Iowa City Regina High School in 1980 and was a member of the Regal state championship team in 1979.
Kroeze received an associate of science degree in horticultural botany science from Kirkwood (Iowa) Community College in 1983, where he was a member of the Eagles men’s basketball team and also served as an assistant coach. Kroeze has also coached at Highland (Iowa) and Regina high schools. He resides in Iowa City with his wife, Jane, and children, Chelsea (15), Ryan (14) and Matt (12).
Erika Pepmeyer, Assistant Coach
 Pepmeyer, a 2004 Cornell graduate, begins her first season as an assistant on the Rams' coaching staff. She graduated from Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School in 2000 and earned honorable mention basketball honors in the Mississippi Valley Conference during her senior season. Pepmeyer attended the University of Iowa for one year and then transferred to Cornell.
Pepmeyer started three years for the Rams and was a second team all-Iowa Conference pick in 2003-04. She ranks among Cornell's all-time leaders in several categories. Pepmeyer stands fourth in career rebounds (435), fourth in assists (192), sixth in points (883) and eighth in steals (86). A two-time academic all-conference performer, Pepmeyer earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from Cornell in 2004.
Upon graduation, she attended Promosports Invitational Camp in Villagarcia De Arosa, Spain, where she pursued an opportunity to play professional basketball overseas. Setting her eyes on coaching, Pepmeyer served as a graduate assistant at Mayville (N.D.) State University in 2004-05. She then moved to Arizona, where she taught and coached at the high school level from 2005-07.
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