University of New Hampshire Athletics
Women's Basketball
Megan Shoniker
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- Megan.Shoniker@unh.edu
Megan Shoniker was hired as the eighth head women's basketball coach in UNH history by Director of Athletics Allison Rich on April 24, 2024.
In her first season leading the Wildcats, Shoniker guided the program to its first double-digit win total since 2019-20 and first postseason appearance since 2021-22. UNH recorded its first America East playoff win since 2011-12 and saw sophomore guard Eva DeChent earn America East Newcomer of the Year and a spot on the All-Conference First Team—the program’s first All-Conference selection since 2019-20. The Wildcats led the league in team offensive rebounds, ranked second in total team rebounds, and finished fourth in scoring defense.
“We are excited to welcome Megan Shoniker as the new head coach of our Wildcat women’s basketball program,” Rich said. “During our thorough national search to find the right person to develop and support our student-athletes and lead this team into the future, it became quite evident that along with her great experience, Megan possesses the energy, passion, vision, and charisma that make her an ideal fit for this important role. The very talented pool of candidates reinforced that this program has great potential to compete for America East championships and beyond. We are thrilled to have Megan join our Wildcat team.”
Megan most recently served five years on the coaching staff at her alma mater, the University of Rhode Island, including the last two seasons as the associate head coach under head coach Tammi Reiss. URI achieved unprecedented success with her on staff. In 2023-24, the Rams reached the Atlantic 10 Championship final for just the third time in program history, and the first time since 2003. The 2022-23 URI team set a program record for victories (27) and won two games in the WNIT to advance to the Super 16 after claiming a share of the Atlantic 10 regular-season title for the first time ever. The Rams had back-to-back appearances in the WNIT in 2021-22 and 2022-23 for the first time in program history.
Shoniker coached three All-A10 honorees in her five years, including Rhode Island’s all-time single-season 3-point leader, Sophie Phillips. The program had just one all-conference guard in the nine years before Shoniker arrived. Rhode Island was known for its stingy defense with Shoniker as defensive coordinator, leading the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense each of the last two seasons.
Megan spent the 2018-19 season as an assistant coach at Binghamton University, where she was the recruiting coordinator and organized all aspects of the program's recruiting efforts, including planning of official visits and travel arrangements.
The Rochester, N.Y., native worked as an assistant coach at Canisius University in Buffalo, N.Y., for four seasons, including her final year (2017-18) as the Golden Griffins’ associate head coach/recruiting coordinator.
From 2012-14, Shoniker worked at St. John Fisher College in her hometown of Rochester. She assisted with player development, recruiting and video operations while earning her Master of Science Degree in Special Education.
Shoniker shined on the court for URI from 2007-11 and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education. She was tabbed to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Team and All-Academic Team. She was also named the Rhode Island Women’s Basketball Player of the Year and a Capital One Academic All-District Second Team Selection, the only player in Rams’ history to win the award. The two-time team captain’s name adorns the school’s Top-10 lists, including No. 1 in program history in minutes played/season (1,066), free throws made/game (18), free throws made/season (159) and field goal attempts/game (38). See below for a complete list of Shoniker’s URI playing records.
After her collegiate career, Shoniker played in Belarus with SBK Olimpia Grodno where she earned First-Team All-Belarusian League and First-Team All-Import in 2012.
Shoniker graduated from Greece Arcadia High School in 2007 as Monroe County’s all-time leading scorer with 2,216 points. She led the Titans to the Class AA State, Western Regional and Sectional Championships as a freshman and was a four-time All-Greater Rochester selection, Team MVP and Section V All-Tournament Team Class AA honoree.
Statement from URI head coach Tammi Reiss
“I couldn’t be any prouder or happier for Megan being named the new head women’s basketball coach at the University of New Hampshire. Since day one of joining our program Meg has diligently worked hard in gaining knowledge and growing her expertise as an assistant and associate head coach. Meg’s dream and career goal was to be a head coach and in her five years here in Kingston I watched her apply herself in all areas and aspects of the job. She has never been more ready to lead her own program with her vision. I cannot thank her enough for all that she has done for our program and our student-athletes. She has been a tremendous asset as a player and as a coach for the University of Rhode Island. This is very bittersweet for me as I hate seeing her leave but am so very happy that she fulfilled her dream. I hope New Hampshire is ready for that energy, passion, and fire that’s about to happen when Coach Shoniker steps foot on campus. They got themselves a great one.”
UNH Women’s Basketball All-Time Head Coaches
Joyce Mills 1975-1977
Cecelia DeMarco 1977-1986
Kathy Sanborn 1986-1997
Sue Johnson 1997-2007
Kristen Cole 2007-2010
Maureen Magarity 2010-2020
Kelsey Hogan 2020-2024
Megan Shoniker 2024-present
In her first season leading the Wildcats, Shoniker guided the program to its first double-digit win total since 2019-20 and first postseason appearance since 2021-22. UNH recorded its first America East playoff win since 2011-12 and saw sophomore guard Eva DeChent earn America East Newcomer of the Year and a spot on the All-Conference First Team—the program’s first All-Conference selection since 2019-20. The Wildcats led the league in team offensive rebounds, ranked second in total team rebounds, and finished fourth in scoring defense.
“We are excited to welcome Megan Shoniker as the new head coach of our Wildcat women’s basketball program,” Rich said. “During our thorough national search to find the right person to develop and support our student-athletes and lead this team into the future, it became quite evident that along with her great experience, Megan possesses the energy, passion, vision, and charisma that make her an ideal fit for this important role. The very talented pool of candidates reinforced that this program has great potential to compete for America East championships and beyond. We are thrilled to have Megan join our Wildcat team.”
Megan most recently served five years on the coaching staff at her alma mater, the University of Rhode Island, including the last two seasons as the associate head coach under head coach Tammi Reiss. URI achieved unprecedented success with her on staff. In 2023-24, the Rams reached the Atlantic 10 Championship final for just the third time in program history, and the first time since 2003. The 2022-23 URI team set a program record for victories (27) and won two games in the WNIT to advance to the Super 16 after claiming a share of the Atlantic 10 regular-season title for the first time ever. The Rams had back-to-back appearances in the WNIT in 2021-22 and 2022-23 for the first time in program history.
Shoniker coached three All-A10 honorees in her five years, including Rhode Island’s all-time single-season 3-point leader, Sophie Phillips. The program had just one all-conference guard in the nine years before Shoniker arrived. Rhode Island was known for its stingy defense with Shoniker as defensive coordinator, leading the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense each of the last two seasons.
Megan spent the 2018-19 season as an assistant coach at Binghamton University, where she was the recruiting coordinator and organized all aspects of the program's recruiting efforts, including planning of official visits and travel arrangements.
The Rochester, N.Y., native worked as an assistant coach at Canisius University in Buffalo, N.Y., for four seasons, including her final year (2017-18) as the Golden Griffins’ associate head coach/recruiting coordinator.
From 2012-14, Shoniker worked at St. John Fisher College in her hometown of Rochester. She assisted with player development, recruiting and video operations while earning her Master of Science Degree in Special Education.
Shoniker shined on the court for URI from 2007-11 and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education. She was tabbed to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Team and All-Academic Team. She was also named the Rhode Island Women’s Basketball Player of the Year and a Capital One Academic All-District Second Team Selection, the only player in Rams’ history to win the award. The two-time team captain’s name adorns the school’s Top-10 lists, including No. 1 in program history in minutes played/season (1,066), free throws made/game (18), free throws made/season (159) and field goal attempts/game (38). See below for a complete list of Shoniker’s URI playing records.
After her collegiate career, Shoniker played in Belarus with SBK Olimpia Grodno where she earned First-Team All-Belarusian League and First-Team All-Import in 2012.
Shoniker graduated from Greece Arcadia High School in 2007 as Monroe County’s all-time leading scorer with 2,216 points. She led the Titans to the Class AA State, Western Regional and Sectional Championships as a freshman and was a four-time All-Greater Rochester selection, Team MVP and Section V All-Tournament Team Class AA honoree.
Statement from URI head coach Tammi Reiss
“I couldn’t be any prouder or happier for Megan being named the new head women’s basketball coach at the University of New Hampshire. Since day one of joining our program Meg has diligently worked hard in gaining knowledge and growing her expertise as an assistant and associate head coach. Meg’s dream and career goal was to be a head coach and in her five years here in Kingston I watched her apply herself in all areas and aspects of the job. She has never been more ready to lead her own program with her vision. I cannot thank her enough for all that she has done for our program and our student-athletes. She has been a tremendous asset as a player and as a coach for the University of Rhode Island. This is very bittersweet for me as I hate seeing her leave but am so very happy that she fulfilled her dream. I hope New Hampshire is ready for that energy, passion, and fire that’s about to happen when Coach Shoniker steps foot on campus. They got themselves a great one.”
UNH Women’s Basketball All-Time Head Coaches
Joyce Mills 1975-1977
Cecelia DeMarco 1977-1986
Kathy Sanborn 1986-1997
Sue Johnson 1997-2007
Kristen Cole 2007-2010
Maureen Magarity 2010-2020
Kelsey Hogan 2020-2024
Megan Shoniker 2024-present
Megan Shoniker File
Education:
URI, 2011 (B.S., Physical Education); St. John Fisher, 2014 (M.S., Special Education)
Coaching Career:
2012-14 St. John Fisher College (Assistant Coach, Staff Associate)
2014-17 Canisius University (Assistant Coach)
2017-18 Canisius University (Associate Head Coach, Recruiting Coordinator)
2018-19 Binghamton University (Assistant Coach, Recruiting Coordinator)
2019-22 University of Rhode Island (Assistant Coach)
2022-24 University of Rhode Island (Associate Head Coach)
2024-present UNH (Head Coach)
Hometown: Rochester, N.Y. (Greece Arcadia High School, 2007)
•Monroe County’s all-time leading scorer (2,216 points)
Collegiate Records: University of Rhode Island (2007-11)
Category Statistic School Rank
FT made, game 18 1
FT attempts, game 19 1
FT made, season 159 1
FT attempts, season 202 1
Minutes, season 1,066 1
FG attempts/game 38 (1.1.11 vs UNH) 1
Minutes, career 3,451 2
Points, season 530 2
Games, career 117 3
Starts, career 81 3
Points, game 35, 2x T-3
Season scoring avg. 18.9 T-3
3-pointers, career 158 5
Assists, career 301 6
FT %, career .737 7
FG attempts, career 1,236 8
FT made, career 308 8
Points, career 1,318 9
FT attempts, career 418 10
UNH WBB vs Binghamton 1-5-19 Highlights
Saturday, January 05
UNH Women's Basketball vs Princeton Highlights (12-29-18)
Saturday, December 29
UNH Women's Basketball vs Dartmouth Highlights (12-21-18)
Friday, December 21
UNH Women's Basketball vs Holy Cross Highlights (12-9-18)
Sunday, December 09
