Indiana University Northwest

Nicki Monahan-Keith enters her third season as head coach of the Indiana University Northwest women's basketball program in 2026-27. A familiar and respected figure within the RedHawk community, Monahan-Keith has played an instrumental role in the program's success both as a coach and as one of its all-time great student-athletes.

In her second season at the helm in 2025-26, Monahan-Keith guided the RedHawks to a 9-19 overall record and an 8-11 mark in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play. Highlights included a 94-57 home victory over Mount Mary University on Jan. 10 and a season-closing 60-35 win over Judson University on Feb. 18, in which EJ Brown-Griffin was honored for surpassing 1,000 career points. Brown-Griffin earned CCAC Honorable Mention recognition, while Isabella Soria was named to the CCAC All-Freshman Team. Brown-Griffin also received College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors. Ava Kingery, Maranda Mason and Madelyn Murray were named to the CCAC All-Academic team, and Mason earned NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athlete recognition.

Monahan-Keith's first season was marked by a series of accomplishments. She guided the RedHawks to a 23-8 overall record and a 15-5 mark in CCAC play, earning a CCAC Tournament Semifinal appearance and a bid to the NAIA National Tournament. Under her leadership, Jessica Carrothers was named CCAC Offensive Player of the Week an unprecedented eight times and earned CCAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year honors, First Team All-American recognition and the WBCA NAIA National Player of the Year award. Carrothers also led the NAIA in scoring. Tiara Jackson was named to the All-CCAC Second Team. Four players — Jessica Carrothers, Maranda Mason, Alyna Santiago and Emma Schmidt — were named to the CCAC All-Academic team.

Before taking over the program, Monahan-Keith spent two seasons as the top assistant coach under former head coach Jesse Ford. During that time, she helped guide the RedHawks to 60 wins and a berth in the 2023 NAIA National Tournament. IU Northwest also made three consecutive appearances in the CCAC Tournament, highlighted by a trip to the conference championship game in 2023. Prior to that, Monahan-Keith served as an assistant coach under former head coach and current Director of Athletics Ryan Shelton during the 2018-21seasons.

Monahan-Keith's coaching tenure has been marked by player development and team cohesion. She played a key role in mentoring several all-conference performers, including CCAC Defensive Player of the Year Tiara Jackson and CCAC Player of the Year and NAIA All-American Jessica Carrothers.

Over two seasons as head coach, Monahan-Keith has seen her players combine for seven CCAC All-Academic honors, one NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athlete award and one College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honor.

As a student-athlete, Monahan-Keith is one of the most accomplished players in IU Northwest history. A four-year standout from 2013 to 2017, she ranks second all-time in scoring with 2,219 career points and averaged 17.9 points per game. She was named the 2014 A.I.I. Freshman of the Year and earned First Team All-Conference honors in all four seasons. Monahan-Keith was a two-time A.I.I. Conference Player of the Year in 2015 and 2017 and a three-time NAIA All-American. In 2017, she led the RedHawks to the program's third NAIA Tournament appearance. Her No. 22 jersey was retired in 2022.

A native of Portage, Ind., Monahan-Keith was a four-year letterwinner at Portage High School, where she remains the school's all-time leading scorer and was recognized as an Indiana Junior All-Star.

Monahan-Keith earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from IU Northwest in 2017. She later completed an Associate of Science in Physical Therapist Assistant from Ivy Tech Community College and has worked at Lakeshore Bone and Joint Institute since 2020. She resides in Portage with her husband, Kyle, and their son, Kole.