Minnesota State University - Mankato Athletics

The eighth coach in program history, Emilee Thiesse (Spearfish, S.D.) has turned the Minnesota State women's basketball team into an NCAA Division II powerhouse as she guided the Mavericks to their second NCAA Division II Championship during the 2023-24 season. Now entering her 14th season in 2025-26, Thiesse boasts a 253-124 (.671) overall record.

The Mavericks broke several team records during their 2023-24 championship season, including games played (37), most wins (32, tied with 2008-09 season), points scored (3,069), field goal attempts (2,673), field goals made (1,146), field goal attempts (789) and free throws made (571). Along with the fourth-best scoring offense in NCAA Division II (82.9 ppg), the Mavericks also boasted a smothering defense that ranked second in steals per game (17.1), second in turnovers forced (28.05) and first in turnover margin (+13.11). Following the team's historic run, Thiesse helped the Mavericks reach the NSIC Tournament Championship game again in 2025-26. The team went on to defeat Missouri Western in the NCAA Region Tournament first round.

The Mavericks claim their second NSIC Championship in team history behind a 20-2 conference record and its first NSIC Tournament Championship, which saw the Mavericks outscore their opponents by an average of 19.3 points in their three conference tournament games. Three Mavericks including Joey Batt, Destinee Bursch and Natalie Bremer were named to the All-NSIC First Team, with Batt garnering her third NSIC Defensive Player of the Year honor. Thiesse was also honored by the conference as she became the second coach in team history to earn NSIC Coach of the Year honors.

The Mavericks then made their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance under Thiesse behind a 26-5 record. MSU would receive the seventh seed in the NCAA Central Region Tournament in Bethany, Okla. and would go on to turn in another dominating performance as the Mavericks defeated Missouri Western (78-58), Fort Hays State (78-66) and Southern Nazarene (80-48) while never trailing during all 120 minutes of play.  

MSU then traveled to St. Joseph, Mo., for the NCAA Elite Eight, where it took on Georgia Southwestern. In a game that featured 14 lead changes, the Mavericks outscored Georgia Southwestern 25-17 in the fourth quarter to claim the 93-88 win. In the Final Four, the Mavericks won another close encounter with Cal State San Marcos. With the scored tied 68-68, Natalie Bremer found Emily Herzberg for the game-winning layup with less than a second to go to give the Mavericks the 70-68 win. MSU finished its championship run with a dominant 89-73 win over Texas Women's University to secure the NCAA Division II Championship.

Thiesse made an immediate impact for the Minnesota State women’s basketball team during her first season in 2012-13, posting the second-most wins in program history in her inaugural campaign with a record of 26-6, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Central Region Tournament. 

Thiesse brought with her an up-tempo offense that, in her first year, proved to be the highest-scoring offense in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference averaging over 76 points per game while posting a league-high .433 field goal percentage. The Mavericks also led the conference in turnover margin posting a +6.31 average for the duration of the 2012-13 campaign.

The 2013-14 season saw another 20-win season for the Mavericks as Thiesse guided MSU to a 23-6 overall record, including an 18-4 NSIC record, to bring her overall record at MSU to 49-12. 

As a team, MSU boasted the highest-scoring offense in the NSIC during the 2013-14 season, averaging 82.5 points per game, while shooting .431 from the field. The Mavericks also led the conference in steals with an average of 11.55 steals per game. MSU also boasted the best turnover margin in the conference for the second straight season with a mark of +7.41.

One season later, the Mavericks found themselves back in the NCAA Tournament after putting together a 21-10 overall record, marking the first time in program history that the women’s basketball team has won at least 20 games in three straight seasons. The Mavericks would finish their 2014-15 season tied for second in the NSIC standings with a 16-6 league record.

MSU would finish third in the NSIC in scoring during the 2014-15 season as it averaged 73 points per game. The Mavericks would continue their home dominance in Taylor Center as they finished the year boasting a 13-1 record at home.

The 2015-16 season saw two players in Britney Scherber and Claire Ziegler claim All-NSIC Second Team honors for their efforts. Ziegler finished her sophomore season in the top-15 of the NSIC in both scoring and rebounding. Ziegler’s 8.4 rebounds per game ranked third in the NSIC.

The 2016-17 season saw the Mavericks put together a 16-11 overall record, including a 12-10 mark in NSIC competition. MSU won nine of its final 14 games of the season, including a 78-71 road victory over #23 Winona State, which saw freshman Taylor Klug record a season-high 21 points, while junior Claire Zieger notched a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Klug was later named to the All-NSIC Freshman Team. As a team, the Mavericks sat atop the NSIC in rebounding with 43.5 rebounds per game and ranked second in scoring with an average of 73.4 points per game.

The Mavericks finished the 2017-18 season with a 13-17, including a 10-12 record in NSIC competition. MSU finished the regular season winning six of its final eight games, including a 4-0 record at Taylor Center during that stretch. Seniors Claire Jordan and Claire Ziegler would go on to receive All-NSIC Second Team honors for their efforts during the season. Ziegler also became the 22nd member of the MSU 1,000 point club as she finished her four-year career at Minnesota State with 1,001 points and 643 rebounds in 95 games played. As a team, MSU led the NSIC in offensive rebounds as it averaged 14 a game. The Mavericks also finished second in the conference in steals as they averaged 9.2 steals a game.

The 2017-18 season also saw MSU thrive in the classroom as 10 Mavericks were named to the NSIC All-Academic Team. As a team, Minnesota State received WBCA Academic Top-25 honors as it boasted a team GPA of 3.611, which ranked 20th in Division II and fourth in the NSIC.  

The 2018-19 season saw the Mavericks post a 14-13 record, 11-11 in conference, including a 9-2 record over the final 11 regular season games.  Junior forward Taylor Drost earned All-NSIC Second Team honors for her efforts during the season.  As a team, Minnesota State dominated the glass averaging an NSIC best 41.9 rebounds a game as well as finishing second in the conference in offensive boards with 13.3 per game.  The Maverick offense was just as effective, averaging the second most points per game in the conference with 74.0.  Minnesota State continued it's tradition of success in the classroom as eight Mavericks were named to the NSIC All-Academic Team.  

The Mavericks improved to an 18-11 record, 13-9 in conference, during the 2019-20 season as the team advanced to the semi-final round of the NSIC Basketball Tournament. Minnesota State boasted the top scoring offense in the conference averaging 77.0 points per game which was also good for 24th best in the nation, while recording the second most rebounds per game in the conference with 41.9 per contest.  Joey Batt was named to the NSIC All-Freshman team while 13 Mavericks were named to the NSIC All-Academic Team.

The 2020-21 season saw the Mavericks selected to finish first in the NSIC South Division and the team went on to compile a 9-7 (8-5 NSIC) record, returning to the NSIC Basketball tournament for the second consecutive season. Minnesota State led the NSIC in scoring, averaging 78.6 points per game and forced a conference leading 21.3 turnovers per game. Senior forward Rachel Shumski and sophomore Guard Joey Batt earned NSIC South Division first team honors with Batt being named NSIC South Division defensive player of the year after averaging a conference leading 3.1 steals per game.

The 2021-22 season saw the Mavericks selected to finish tied for second in the NSIC South Division and went on to boast a 21-7 (16-5 NSIC) and finished first in the South Division. The Mavericks returned to the NSIC tournament for the third consecutive year and made the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2014-15 season. Minnesota State led the conference in scoring, averaging 78.0 ppg. The Mavericks also led the conference in turnover margin boasting a plus-9.96 a game. Joey Batt was named to the All-NSIC First Team, finishing the year seventh in scoring and second in steals in the NSIC, and Maddy Olson was name to the All-NSIC Second Team. Additionally, Destinee Bursch earned NSIC Freshman of the Year honors.

The 2022-23 season proved to be another one for the record books as the Mavericks finished with a 26-5 record, including a 19-3 NSIC record. MSU's 26 wins tied for the second-most in a season in team history and the Mavericks' 19 NSIC victories tied for the most in a season in team history. The Mavericks would finish second in the NSIC's overall standing, while claiming their second NSIC South Division championship in team history. MSU would put together a 10-game winning streak to start the season, before winning 11 consecutive games leading up to the NSIC Tournament championship game, en route to securing their fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament under Thiesse. The Mavericks defeated Central Missouri 83-81 to open the season, before falling to Minnesota Duluth 86-70 in the second round.

Three Maverick players would receive All-NSIC honors for their efforts, including junior Joey Batt who was named to the All-NSIC First Team and the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year. Sophomore Destinee Bursch and freshman Natalie Bremer claimed All-NSIC Second Team honors as well. As a team, MSU lead NCAA Division II in steals per game with 16.1. The Mavericks also ranked in the top-10 in Division II in turnover margin (2nd/11.81), turnovers forced per game (3rd/25.74), scoring offense (4th/83.7) and scoring margin (7th/17.3).

Along with the team’s success on the court, the Mavericks have been just as successful in the classroom during Thiesse’s 12 seasons. In total, MSU women’s basketball players have received 90 NSIC All-Academic Team honors. MSU also boasted the third-highest team GPA (3.728) in NCAA Division II during the 2016-17 season. 

Prior to joining MSU, Thiesse spent three seasons at South Dakota State where she served as recruiting coordinator and academic coordinator for the Jackrabbits. SDSU made three consecutive NCAA Division I postseason tournament appearances and won three straight Summit League titles while compiling a 65-34 overall record.

Prior to re-joining the Jackrabbit staff where she had worked as a graduate assistant coach from 2004-06, Thiesse spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Drake, helping guide the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament in 2007 and a WNIT appearance in 2008. In her three seasons at Drake, the Bulldogs compiled a 56-42 overall record.

Thiesse, played collegiately at Nebraska-Kearney from 2000-03 where the Lopers won Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference East Division titles and qualified for the NCAA Division II postseason each of her four years. While finishing degrees in mathematics and physical education, she served as a student assistant at UNK for the 2003-04 season. Thiesse earned a master’s degree in sports pedagogy from SDSU in the spring of 2006.

The daughter of former Spearfish and Madison High School basketball coach Tim Gusso, Thiesse’s sister, Amy Williams, is the women’s basketball coach at the University of Nebraska.

Thiesse, her husband Brandon and their children Tadlee, Trinlee and Taxton reside in Mankato.

Emilee Thiesse at Minnesota State Year-By-Year