(story courtesy BVU Athletics Department)
Buena Vista University interim director of athletics Amy Maier has announced the hiring of Kylee Boettcher as head women’s basketball coach.
Boettcher takes over for David Wells, who resigned last month after five years as head coach.
“Kylee’s desire to be the next head women’s basketball coach at Buena Vista University, combined with her experience and relationships as an alum, connections locally and throughout the state, and her coaching successes, made her stand out during our process,” says Maier. “Her passion and dedication to developing student-athletes and building relationships on and off the court will be a great asset to our program. I am very excited to welcome Kylee back home to BVU and look forward to getting to work with her.”
Boettcher, a 2002 graduate of BVU, has spent the last five seasons as head girls basketball coach at Panorama High School in Panora, Iowa. During that span, she compiled an astounding overall record of 111-16, including a stellar 25-2 mark and the program’s first-ever state tournament championship game appearance this season. Her teams also captured a pair of conference championships, three runner-up conference finishes, five regional finals appearances and made three straight trips to the state tournament (2022, 2023, 2024).
Among Boettcher’s individual coaching accolades include being named a two-time Iowa Girls Coaches Association (IGCA) All-District Coach of the Year (2022, 2023), two-time West Central Activities Conference (WCAC) Coach of the Year (2020, 2022) and two-time Iowa Basketball Coaches Association All-Regional Basketball Coach of the Year (2022, 2024). She was also a coach during the Iowa Basketball Coaches Association Pizza Ranch All-Star Game in 2023.
Prior to taking over the reins as head coach for the Panthers, Boettcher served 10 seasons for the district as a junior high coach and a volunteer high school assistant basketball coach. She also spent time as head varsity softball coach for the Panthers from 2007-2013 and again from 2021-2023. The Panora, Iowa, native, returned to her alma mater after coaching stints at Washington High School in Cherokee (2003-05) and Waukee Middle School (2006).
Outside of coaching, Boettcher has served as an instructional coach at Panorama – a position she has held since 2016. Before taking on that role, she had been an English instructor at the High School since 2007 and served on various committees within the school district and community.
“To be able to come back to BVU and give back to the program, campus, and community that shaped who I am and also prepared me for this journey, is a privilege for me,” adds Boettcher. “I have so many special memories of my time here, but what makes them so special are the wonderful people that I shared them with. Those individuals are still a major part of my life today, and I am grateful for that.”
Boettcher was a four-year member of the BVU women’s basketball and softball teams from 1998-2002. While playing on the hardwood for head coach Janet Berry, she was named a team co-captain and was the recipient of the prestigious John Naughton Coaches Award as a senior.
“One of my most memorable experiences was my freshman year when it was my turn to give the locker room speech,” says Boettcher. “I had prepared and memorized a poem for the team. My teammates and coaches were so moved, that the joy shared with me is what solidified what I always knew; I was meant to lead the locker room. Now all these years later, I still lean on that moment when preparing game day speeches.”
She earned her bachelor’s degree in English from BVU in 2002 and received a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Iowa in 2023.
It’s Boettcher’s hope now that she can guide the young women that come through the Beaver program to a level in which their dreams and goals become reality as they embark on life after graduation.
“I am really looking forward to building positive connections with the student-athletes and providing an experience that will allow them to one day turn their own dreams into a reality.”
Boettcher and her husband, Trevor (2000 BVU men basketball alumna), move their family back to the place it all began back in July of 2002.
“Trevor and I were supposed to get married under the Arch, but Mother Nature had other plans,” she recalls. “During a rainstorm, lightning struck the Arch, causing the ceremony to be moved to the South Forum Lawn, and the rest is history.”
They have three children: Tyme (12th), Trey (9th) and Tyce (4th). Boettcher will begin her duties immediately and is expected to officially arrive on campus at the end of May.
