M State women’s basketball coach Jodi Holleman leaves for Morris job

Jodi Holleman’s departure leaves M State searching for the next coach to steady a women’s basketball program that she helped define over six seasons in Fergus Falls.

M State announced May 27 that Holleman is leaving the Lady Spartans to become the head girls varsity basketball coach at Morris Area High School. The college said she will also remain owner and director of the West Central Wildcats youth sports program, keeping her tied to player development across west-central Minnesota while M State begins a search for her replacement.

For a campus like Minnesota State Community and Technical College, the coaching job carries more weight than game-night strategy. The head coach also shapes recruiting, retention and the day-to-day tone around a roster made up of students who balance classes, work and basketball. M State said it will work with current players and recruits during the transition to preserve continuity.

Holleman’s run included a regional championship in her first season, a milestone that quickly established the Lady Spartans as a program with higher expectations. M State’s athletics bio says she also reached her 300th career win in her third season and has earned coach of the year recognition eight times. Before arriving in Fergus Falls, she spent five years at Ridgewater College.

Her coaching résumé stretches back further to Hancock High School, where West Central Wildcats materials say she spent 15 years, compiled a 277-107 record, won 10 conference titles, three section titles and reached three state tournaments. Those Hancock years included a particularly strong final six-season stretch, with six straight conference championships, two state tournament appearances and a 140-26 record.

The timing matters for the Spartans, who entered the 2025-26 season after a 6-11 year and returned only one starter, Kaitlyn Olson of Roseau. Freshmen Terri Wind, Kiara Goggleye, Kaylee Robinson, Taylor Dingwall, Jailyn Walker and MaKenzie Dale were part of the rebuild. Last fall, Holleman said the team had stressed fundamentals since Oct. 1 and planned to play at an uptempo pace, with assistant coach Abby Perkins on staff.

Jason Retzlaff, M State’s co-athletic director, said Holleman made a lasting impact and that her mentoring of student-athletes stood out during her tenure. Her next stop is Morris Area High School, where the girls basketball program is listed as Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta, reflecting a regional team footprint beyond Morris itself.

For Fergus Falls, the move is more than a personnel change. It closes a six-year chapter that shaped the Lady Spartans’ identity and opens a search that will determine how quickly M State can protect the progress Holleman built.