Marnae Holland, who played both guard and forward for Shawnee State from the 2018-19 to the 2022-23 women's basketball campaigns, will be in her third season as an assistant head coach for DeWayne Burroughs' women's basketball program. She was officially named as an assistant head coach to Shawnee State head coach DeWayne Burroughs on Dec. 20, 2023. Holland's first official games on the bench came on Friday, Dec. 29 and Saturday, Dec. 30 when the Bears played against Southeastern (Fla.) and Webber International (Fla.) as part of the Webber International University Classic in Winter Haven, Fla.Â
"It's a different perspective being on this side of the floor as opposed to when I was a player, but it's definitely rewarding and very fulfilling as a person," Holland said. "As a coach, experiencing the moment when your players grasp and respond to your guidance is truly incredible. I sensed a void without basketball, and now, this opportunity allows me to rekindle my passion for the game."
In her second season as the associate head coach, Holland helped guide Shawnee State to a 28-5 overall record in a season that included the 900th program win in its history and sweeping straight through the River States Conference in the regular season (16-0) that included a sweep of nationally ranked Rio Grande, its archrival, during the season.
After finishing as the RSC Championship Tournament Runner-Up, Shawnee State advanced to the NAIA National Tournament, where the Bears claimed an NAIA Opening Round victory over Loyola (La.), 70-62, to advance to the NAIA Second Round where Shawnee State gave No. 7 Cumberlands (Ky.) a battle before dropping a 71-66 contest. The season, which featured a 20-game win streak for the Bears, saw Shawnee State lead the RSC in defensive points per game (55.7) while finishing second in the RSC in defensive field goal percentage (36.5) and rebounding margin (plus-7.8).
Ultimately, Shawnee State won 20 straight games during the season -- and the women's basketball program had four individuals earn All-RSC honors, including Cianna Gloster and Miyoshi Ellis, who were each named First-Team All-RSC honorees, and sophomores Jariah Steele and Emily Maynard, who were each named as Third-Team All-RSC recipients.
In addition, Shawnee State continues to excel academically -- as the program, which holds a cumulative GPA consistently around the 3.3 to 3.4 range, produced the maximum amount of College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honorees as Gloster, Maynard, Steele and Lexi Deaver were each named to the list.
During her time on the bench in her first season on staff, the Shawnee State women's basketball program went 12-7 with Holland on the bench -- but went 10-3 over Holland's final 13 games on staff to complete the 2023-24 season as Shawnee State went 20-10, accumulating the program's first 20-win season since Holland's sophomore season in 2019-20.
Having played the sport of basketball since she was five, Holland, who grew up in Michigan and attended her first two years of high school at Waterford Kettering High School in Waterford, Mich., transferred to Strongsville High School for her final two seasons of high school varsity basketball. While at Strongsville, Holland quickly made a name for herself, leading the Lady Mustangs to the OHSAA Division I Regional Finals as a senior in the 2017-18 campaign and a 22-5 overall record. It was Strongsville's first regional final appearance in 22 seasons and the school's first Division I District Championship in 11 seasons to boot -- but her success didn't end there.
In her first three seasons at Shawnee State, Holland, as a key sparkplug off of the bench who provided energy on both ends of the floor, posted 15 double-figure scoring efforts during her sophomore and junior seasons combined and was a vital part to Shawnee State accumulating a 73-23 overall record from the 2018-19 to the 2020-21 seasons with two Mid-South Conference Championship Game appearance, a 2020 Mid-South Conference Tournament Championship and a No. 7 national ranking to end the 2019-20 season, and three national tournament berths over that stretch of time.
When Burroughs took the Shawnee State head coaching position beginning with the 2021-22 season, Holland proved that she was ready to make the transition into a leadership role as one of the program's main centerpieces. In fact, Holland, along with fellow teammate Kam Elzy, helped hold the team together.
As the holdovers from the 2020-21 unit, both players produced in a major way for Burroughs -- especially Holland, who averaged 15.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per contest as a junior and won Mid-South Conference Player of the Week honors on Jan. 31, 2022.
In the last 11 games of the 2022-23 season, Shawnee State showcased an impressive performance, securing a 9-2 record. During this stretch, they achieved victories against three nationally ranked teams, including NAIA National Runner-Up Thomas More. In their win over Thomas More, Holland scored a career high of 37 points and had 16 rebounds resulting in receiving outstanding player of the tournament. This run over Thomas More and Georgetown led them to play in the Mid-South Conference Championship Game, marking the third time in Holland's five-year career at Shawnee State.
Individually, Holland concluded her senior season with her second Mid-South Conference Player of the Week accolade. She surpassed the 1,000-point and 500 rebounds milestone for her college career and garnered Second-Team All-MSC honors. This came after a stellar season where the 5-11 talent achieved a career-high average of 17.7 points per game and 8.3 rebounds. Notably, she demonstrated career-best efficiency, boasting a 47.5 percent shooting accuracy from the field and a 30.8 percent success rate from beyond the three-point line.
