Keith Boucher enters his 34th season as the head coach of the Keene State College women's basketball as he looks to lead the Owls into contention for the Little East Conference championship and return to postseason play.
In 2021-22, the Owls won their most games in six seasons. Among the accomplishments Boucher oversaw include Hailey Derosia making the All-Little East First Team and Jenny Freedman being selected to both the All-Little East Defensive Team and the NEWBA Senior All-Star Game.
Throughout the 2019-2020 season, Boucher saw Owls nearly double their win total from a year ago in the season. Boucher picked up big conference wins on the home floor against UMass Boston 66-49 on December 7, 2019 and then followed that up with a win over UMass Dartmouth on January 15, 2020 as the Owls were guided to a 56-50 victory. After missing out on the LEC playoffs in the '18-'19 season, Boucher guided his squad back to the LEC tournament after their one year hiatus.
Boucher led the Owls to the promised land in the 2016-17 season, as the Owls captured their first LEC tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament. The season before, KSC set a school record with 24 wins and captured the programs' second ECAC Championship, and Boucher was named the LEC Coach of the Year. The long time KSC coach earned his 400th career win with a 69-61 win over Western Connecticut State on February 13, 2016.
Under Boucher’s direction, Keene State had an outstanding season in 2007 with a program best second place LEC finish and first ever NCAA Division III NCAA tournament berth, advancing to the second round.
Adjustments are nothing new for Boucher, who has seen the team's success fluctuate with each season. He inherited a NECC championship squad in 1989-90 that posted a 23-7 record and became KSC's first-ever women's basketball NCAA Tournament team. The Owls returned to post-season play a few years later, when they reached the ECAC Championship game in 1992-93.
Since moving to Division III and the LEC in 1997, the Owls have made six trips to the ECAC tournament, capturing the crown in 2010. They earned their first-ever LEC championship berth in 2004-05, and culminated their 10-year Division III tenure with its 2007 NCAA tournament berth.
A graduate of Plymouth State, where he played football and baseball, Boucher went on to receive his master's degree in physical education from Norwich University. The Lebanon, N.H., native began his coaching career as the boys' basketball coach at Timberlane High School and softball coach at Hanover High School, before returning to Norwich as assistant men's basketball coach. After serving in a trial basis for a year, he was officially named the Owls eighth coach in the fall of 1990.
Boucher wants his athletes to succeed at Keene State. "I tell all my kids when they come into my program that I want them to be good at three things; first and most importantly, to be a good person, second to be a good student, and third to be a good basketball player."
