Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina women's basketball head coach Jonathan Tsipis today announced the addition of Claire Kaifes as an assistant coach and a new face on the Catamount bench for the 2025-26 season.
Kaifes (pronounced KAY-fiss) is a former women's basketball student-athlete at Marquette University, where she crossed paths with Tsipis during his tenure on staff with the Golden Eagles. She joins associate head coach Alison Seberger, assistant coaches Sydney Lowery and Darius Barksdale, and graduate assistant Andrea Shire.
"We are excited to have Claire Kaifes join our Catamount coaching staff. I had the pleasure of coaching Claire for two seasons while at Marquette, where she was a coach on and off the floor for the program," said Tsipis, who enters his second season in Cullowhee. "As a player, Claire was an outstanding shooter, consistently took charges, and always found ways to impact winning. Her experience as both a high school and an AAU coach will transfer over to her role here at WCU. Our players will learn from her high basketball IQ and the relationships she will build with our team and staff."
A recent Marquette graduate, Kaifes joins the Catamount staff having most recently served as the head coach of the Kansas Elite AAU team in Kansas City. As such, she organized practice and team schedules while also acting as the liaison between college coaches and the players. Kaifes was also an assistant coach for Staley High in Kansas City, Mo., helping guide the team to a 29-2 record and a Class 6A state title game appearance.
Originally from Shawnee, Kansas, located in the suburbs of Kansas City, Kaifes spent five seasons on the women's basketball hardwood at Marquette, playing in 93 games while in Milwaukee. She was a four-time Big East All-Academic team selection.
While an undergraduate, Kaifes assisted the MU marketing department with social media content creation and as a student worker from 2021-2024. Kaifes overlapped with Tsipis during her final two seasons at Marquette, and with fellow assistant coach Darius Barksdale during her final season in Milwaukee.
Kaifes received her Bachelor of Science in business administration in August 2022, and earned her Master of Business Administration in May 2024.
The daughter of Eric and Melynda Kaifes, Claire comes from an athletic family. Her father, Eric, played college football at SMU, while her brother, Connor, played football at Pittsburgh State. Her sister, Catie, played college basketball for Eastern Kentucky, and her brother Cooper began his collegiate career at Loyola-Chicago before transferring to Samford.
Tsipis and staff have remained active since the end of the 2024-25 season, filling the roster for the upcoming season. The Catamounts return four student-athletes from a season ago, adding eight players, including five freshmen and a trio of collegiate transfers.
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