Blue Star Operations

Lori Bodnar

Lori Bodnar joined Blue Star Basketball in 2013 after a nearly 30 year coaching career at the college level. Long associated with Kent State University basketball, she stepped away from the college game after 24 seasons with the Golden Flashes, nine of which were as the associate head coach.

Since her first season with Kent State in 1988, Bodnar was a crucial part of a program that had produced three Mid-American Conference Tournament champions, 13 20-win seasons and four NCAA tournament appearances.

Bodnar�s main responsibilities with the program included her role as recruiting coordinator and the coaching of Kent State�s post players. The University of Rio Grande graduate also oversaw fundraising, community service and public relations for the program. Bodnar also helped with the monitoring of the team�s academic performance.

Bodnar�s passion to connect with the community did not go unnoticed. During the 2009-10 academic year, Bodnar was one of a select few on the Kent State campus to earn one of the first Kent State President�s Excellence Awards. President Lester A. Lefton awarded Bodnar her honor in February, finding the long-time coach on the practice court while tutoring KSU student-athletes.

Since arriving at Kent State, Bodnar proved her value to the program by recruiting and coaching 14 All-MAC selections and two MAC tournament MVPs.

One of Bodnar�s greatest successes at Kent State is no doubt the mentoring of former forward Lindsay Shearer to three consecutive first-team All-MAC honors as well as Player of the Year accolades in 2005-06. Under Bodnar�s instruction, centers Andrea Csaszar and Julie Studer achieved MAC Tournament MVP honors in 2002 and 2000, respectively.

Before starting her coaching career, the Blaine, Ohio native was a four-year letterwinner as the starting center at the University of Rio Grande in Rio Grande, Ohio. Bodnar graduated from Rio Grande in 1986 with a bachelor�s degree in business education.

Bodnar belongs to both the National Basketball Coaches Association and the Women�s Basketball Coaches Association. Outside of the Kent State program, Bodnar worked with the Portage County Special Olympic track and field program for nearly 20 years. She is also a committee member for the American Cancer Society�s �Relay for Life.�

Bodnar started her coaching career at Buckeye Trail High School in Old Washington, Ohio, where she had two successful years at the girls� junior varsity and assistant varsity basketball coach. Bodner still resides in Ohio and assists with Head Start Basketball - http://www.headstartbasketball.com/