by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Not content with one national basketball championship, Kansas City Kansas Community College standout Caroline Hoppock has her sights set on another one.
“That’s my goal, two national championships,” Hoppock said after committing to an NAIA national power, William Penn in Oskaloosa, Iowa. “They’ve got a program good enough to win a second national championship.”
“I’m really happy for her,” said Joe McKinstry, a two-time national coach of the year at KCKCC and a William Penn graduate. “I really like to see our players go on and play in meaningful games and for national championships and she’ll do that at William Penn.”
Indeed, Steve Williamson has taken the Lady Statesmen to the NAIA DI national tournament in each of his three seasons as head coach.
An automatic qualifier in the national this past season with a 25-7 overall record (19-5 conference), the Statesmen were denied a chance at a national championship by the coronavirus pandemic.
Prior to coming to William Penn, Williamson coached 13 years at Iowa Wesleyan where he had five teams qualify for the NAIA national tournament and three teams reach the USCAA national tournament where the Tigers finished runnerup in 2016 and Williamson was named national coach of the year.
Williamson expects Hoppock to make an immediate impact on a Statesman program that loses seven seniors and a junior who graduated early.
“She fits in perfectly with the way we play,” Williamson said. “We’ll play her exactly the same way Joe (McKinstry) did with a lot of four and five in and out motion. We think she’ll create a lot of mismatches because of her ability to shoot the ball from the perimeter as well as rebound and play the post.”
Williamson’s first look at Hoppock came in her freshman year in 2017.
“I like watching Joe’s teams play because they play hard and compete so we know we’re getting a good player,” he said. “Caroline showed she could compete and shoot the ball as a freshman. Now she comes in a lot more prepared and can become a leader. We’ve got eight spots to fill but we feel we’ve got good kids coming in from great programs like KCKCC, Kirkwood and Highland.”
Unlike most recruits denied visitations by the pandemic, Hoppock is no stranger to the William Penn program in more ways than one. Not only did KCKCC play in Oskaloosa in each of her three seasons, she’ll also have an inside track on the William Penn offense.
“During the 2018-2019 year I saw Penn play at Mid-America Nazarene and really liked what they were doing offensively,” McKinstry said. “During the break coach Williamson sent me three pages of notes on their offense and we took some things from their offense that really helped us, especially in the national tournament. Caroline is a smart defensive player and her talent and ability as an offensive weapon will make her a good player for a real solid program.”
“I think it’s a perfect fit for me starting a new journey,” Hoppock said. “It’s got a great winning culture which is what I wanted. The coach is awesome and they really wanted me. And they have amazing facilities – a great weight room, basketball and volleyball courts, a turf field. They also have a ton of sports including football. I love football, I missed not having it at KCKCC.”
Ironically, the NAIA has announced plans for adding Flag Football for Women this fall and should William Penn add it as its 10th women’s sport, the college would have a bona fide quarterback in Hoppock, who throws a football with the best, men included.
In Hoppock, William Penn will get a three-year veteran who played a vital role in KCKCC winning the 2019 NJCAA national championship.
Invaluable off the bench in a “sixth man” role, she averaged 7.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists playing in all 36 games. Sidelined by injury after just six games as a freshman, Hoppock also missed the Blue Devils’ first 16 games this season because of injury. Playing in 15 games, she averaged 13.3 points, shooting 41.7 percent from 3-point and .821 from the free throw line, both team bests.
“Were it not for all the injuries, Caroline would undoubtedly have been the best 3-point shooter I’ve ever had,” McKinstry said.
When she finally got into action this season, Hoppock knocked down five 3-pointers in each of her first three games. Last year, she tied the all-time record for threes when she made eight of 11 attempts. Averaging 2.6 threes this season, Hoppock finished her career with 109 treys in 57 games, fifth on the all-time career list.
Looking back, Hoppock calls her decision to play at KCKCC “one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Coach Mac did so many things for me and really took care of me, not just playing basketball but preparing me for life and how to get things done.”
William Penn is a member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference, which has members in five states including Baker, Benedictine and Mid-America Nazarene in Kansas.
“It’s the toughest conference in the nation in Division I,” Williamson said. “For us, our success has been remarkable thanks to getting the right type of kids from winning programs.” Other Heart members are in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois.