Helm named to Class of 2025 WBCA Next Generation Institute
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Photo provided by Chase Messer, assistant director of sports information at McKendree University
Provided by Chase Messer, assistant director of sports information at McKendree University
LEBANON, Ill. – The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) has announced its class of participants in the 2025 WBCA Next Generation Institute, with McKendree University Assistant Coach Terra Helm being named to the 32 selections.
Now in its third year, the Next Generation Institute focuses on the CEO attributes needed to lead a program and be a problem-solver in today’s ever-changing landscape of higher education and the enterprise of intercollegiate athletics. The curriculum is a high-level education program for experienced assistant coaches who aspire to become collegiate head coaches.
McKendree women’s basketball Head Coach Kari Kerkhoff on Helm’s honor:
“Terra Helm’s acceptance into the WBCA’s Next Generation Institute is a tribute to her dedication, leadership, and passion for the game. With her eight years of coaching experience at multiple levels and a personality to inspire, Terra is prepared to take the next step in her career and become an exceptional head coach. The NGI will undoubtedly help her continue to grow and thrive as a leader in basketball.”
Helm joined McKendree after one season as the Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, under head coach Katie Falco. Prior to Lindenwood, Helm served as the Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach for three seasons at her alma mater, Culver-Stockton College, in Canton, Mo. In her three seasons at Culver-Stockton, Helm helped the Wildcats to two Heart Conference Tournament appearances, one NAIA National Tournament appearance, had ten players named to the All-Heart Conference Teams, and had two players with NAIA All-American Honorable Mention honors. (Terra was a basketball standout and a 2013 graduate of Fredericktown High School.)
During her college career, Helm appeared in 84 games for the Wildcats in three seasons and was a part of teams with 20 or more wins in a single season. Helm served as the captain of the team for her senior year and was twice named to the NAIA Daktronics All-Scholar Team. She graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and Health.
Following her collegiate career at Culver-Stockton, Helm spent a year as a Graduate Assistant Coach at William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri, and obtained a Master of Education degree.
WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew speaks about the participants’ impact:
“A college athletics team is a company; the head coach is its CEO. A head coach must be more than a strategist and tactician in the sport. They must also be an inspirational leader, businessperson, communicator, marketer, visionary, and manager of people and resources. The Next Generation Institute challenges participants to put aside the X’s and O’s for a while and concentrate on understanding and developing those skills so that they are prepared to take the next step in their careers and become successful CEOs.”
2025 WBCA NEXT GENERATION INSTITUTE
RECIPIENTS
Tennille Adams, University of Alabama
Tahnee Balerio, University of Georgia
Brittany Batts, Gannon University
KaeLynn Boyd, University of Texas at Arlington
Sheila Boykin, University of South Florida
Camryn Brown, Florida Gulf Coast University
Coretta Brown, Eastern Kentucky University
Karlie Burris, University of Nevada–Las Vegas
Shannon Bush, Cornell University
Camille Collier, Arizona State University
Empress Davenport, University of Mississippi
Miki Glenn, Fairmont State University
John Hampton, Rutgers University
Heidi Heintz, University of California, Berkeley
Terra Helm, McKendree University
Ashley Johnson, Furman University
Kelly Komara, Purdue University
Katie Kuester, Saint Joseph’s University (PA)
Ariel Massengale, Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville
Jordan McCann, Loyola University (IL)
Deont’a McChester, Marquette University
Sarah Miles, University of Denver
Sara Mitchell, Manhattan College
Brittany Morris, North Carolina State University
Darrell Mosley, Arizona State University
Eryc Pittman, University of South Alabama
Ashley Robinson, University of Pennsylvania
Callan Stores, Manhattan College
Sarah Taylor, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
Lindsay Werntz, University of Denver
Shelby Wheeler, Ursuline College
Clint Williams, Brown University
To be eligible for selection to participate in the program, a person must be a current WBCA member, must have at least five years’ experience as a college assistant coach, and must have been nominated by their head coach. The Institute is held in conjunction with the WBCA Convention, which this year takes place April 3-6 in Tampa, Florida.
ABOUT THE WBCA
The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women’s and girls’ basketball at all levels of competition. Founded in 1981, the WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of coaches to those organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. Visit www.WBCA.org for more details about the Association.
Photo provided by Chase Messer, assistant director of sports information at McKendree University
