Now you see her, now you don’t.
Now you do again.
After a turn of events that bewildered and angered players, students and alumni alike, the University of Regina has reversed course and reinstated Michaela Kleisinger as Cougars women’s basketball head coach.
Kleisinger was hired as interim head coach for the 2025-26 season, succeeding longtime head coach Dave Taylor, and led the team to a 17-3 regular season record.
Then April 20 word broke publicly that the team had decided to hire an external male candidate as head coach rather than remove the interim tag from Kleisinger.
Players reportedly threatened to leave the program and alumni issued harsh public criticisms of the university’s decision, which led to the school initiating a review of the situation.
The university acknowledged its decision to rehire Kleisinger in a written statement Monday attributed to school president Jeff Keshen.
“The University of Regina has determined that certain important factors including the interim coach’s demonstrated performance and the strong competitive record under her leadership, as well as her deep connection to the institution and the broader community were not given the necessary weight and merit. In light of these considerations, an offer has been made and accepted by Michaela Kleisinger to lead the Cougars women’s basketball team as head coach.”
Before turning to coaching, Kleisinger played five seasons with the Cougars herself from 2015-20, finishing her eligibility second on the team’s all-time list with 333 career assists.
As a senior she led the entire Canada West conference by averaging 36.4 minutes played per game, recorded three triple-doubles and was named and academic All-Canadian.
