Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger on the sidelines during the Non-Public Group B title game against Morris Catholic at Rutgers on March 8, 2024. (Photo: Dharen Faraon)
Rutgers Prep has announced it will rename its court this Spring in honor of Mary Klinger, the girls’ basketball coach at the school who retired after last season, and 42 years heading up the Argonaut program.
The ceremony to be held at the O’Connell Athletic Center was announced Monday and will be held on Saturday, May 22nd, while it was also announced there will be a reunion of Klinger’s past teams and their families during the basketball season.
Klinger retired in June, with her assistant and friend Audrey Taylor taking over the reins this season. Taylor had a successful run at Franklin, winning multiple county, sectional and state titles, including two Tournament of Champions titles, in 2017 and 2019.
Klinger – then Mary Coyle – was a member of the 1982 Rutgers women’s basketball team that won the final AIAW National Championship, along with her twin sister Patty and future UConn assistant Chris Dailey.
Soon after college, she landed at Rutgers Prep, where she amassed a 757-267 record in 42 years leading the girls’ program. She earned her 700th win in January of 2024, in an 85-42 victory over Ridge.
A large part of that success came in the last decade or so. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, Rutgers Prep was 289-50. They have won eight of the last 11 Somerset County Tournament titles, and has had eleven straight full seasons with 20 or more wins.
Klinger also sent numerous players on to play high-level college basketball, most recently and most notably Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes, who also was a McDonald’s All-American.
Among Mary Klinger’s accolades:
More Mary Klinger accolades…
- 15 NJISAA (New Jersey Independent Schools Athletic Association) Prep Championchips
- 11 Skyland Conference Divisional titles
- 11 Somerset County Tournament titles
- Skyland Conference top pod winner, 2021 (COVID season, no SCT)
- 6 NJSIAA Non-Public South B championships
- 3 NJSIAA Non-Public Group B state championships
- John Wooden Legacy Award Winner, 2023
- NFHS National Coach of the Year, 2021-22
- Member NJSCA Hall of Fame
- Member New Jersey Sports Writers Hall of Fame
- Member West Catholic (PA) High School Hall of Fame
- Member Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame (part of 1982 AIAW National Championship team, inducted 1993
- Selection Committee Member WBCA & McDonald’s All-American Team
- McDonald’s All-American Team Head Coach, 2011
- Assistant Coach USA Women’s Basketball U17 World Championship Team, 2014
- Served on staff of USA Junior National Basketball Team
Discover more from Central Jersey Sports Radio
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.