Portland State University Athletics

BIOGRAPHY
Chelsey Gregg was elevated to head coach of the Viking program on April 16, 2021, and will coach her fourth year at the helm during the 2024-25 season.
 
In her three previous years as head coach, as well as her six years as an assistant (2015-18) then associate head coach (2018-21), the Vikings have made the semifinals of the Big Sky tournament four times, including a conference tournament title in 2019. She’s also guided players to two All-Big Sky first-team selections (Sidney Rielly, 2019; Esmeralda Morales, 2024), a Big Sky tournament MVP (Ashley Bolston, 2019), and a Big Sky Preseason MVP (Morales, 2023).

GROWTH MINDSET
The best coaching job of Gregg’s career came in her second year at the helm when she orchestrated the biggest year-to-year turnaround in program history. After an 0-20 conference campaign during their 2021-22 season, the Vikings went 8-10 during the 2022-23 season. That +8 win differential was not only the largest turnaround in program history, but also one win off the biggest year-to-year turnaround in Big Sky Conference history.

It was a mindset change that helped key the resurgence for the Vikings. A year after the Vikings lost three Big Sky games by five points or less, they went 5-0 in such games during the 2022-23 season. Additionally, the Vikings responded well to losses throughout the season. Three of the team’s eight conference wins that year came over teams that beat them in their previous meeting. That carried over to the Big Sky tournament, where the Vikings beat Idaho State and Montana State – two teams that beat the Vikings in their last regular-season meetings – to advance to the conference semifinals for the first time since 2019. The Vikings beat Montana State, 77-65, just eight days after the Bobcats – the defending Big Sky tournament champions – beat the Vikings 63-34.
 
The Vikings also saw dramatic improvements defensively between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. The Vikings gave up 10 fewer points per game than they did a season ago, a turnaround that saw them go from 322nd in the NCAA for scoring defense to third in the Big Sky in 2022-23. The Vikings also had standout three-point shooting all season, finishing the year ranked second in the Big Sky for three-point field goal percentage (.350) and fifth in three-pointers made per game (7.48). The Vikings’ 232 made three-pointers as a team ranked as their third-highest total in program history.
 
PLAYER SUCCESS UNDER GREGG
In addition to team success, Gregg has led several individuals to record seasons and accolades, both in her time as head coach and an assistant.
 
As head coach, Gregg helped lead Morales to All-Big Sky first team honors in 2024, making her the first Viking to make the first team since Rielly – another player Gregg coached closely – in 2019. Morales earned the honor after becoming the first Viking ever to lead the Big Sky Conference in scoring (16.5 points per game). Morales also earned All-Big Sky second-team honors following the 2022-23 season.
 
As an assistant, Gregg led Viking players to 11 all-conference honors between one first team (Rielly, 2019), three second team (Bolston, 2017, 2018, 2019), six third team (Rielly, 2017, 2018; Kylie Jimenez, 2020, 2021; Desirae Hansen, 2020, 2021) and one honorable mention (Jimenez, 2019).
 
Outside of the all-conference teams, several Vikings have earned individual awards during Gregg’s tenure. Bolston earned the highest honor when she was named MVP of the 2019 Big Sky tournament. Bolston led the Vikings to the tournament title that year after averaging 14.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in three tournament wins. Courtney West was named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year that same season while Hansen was co-recipient for the conference’s Top Reserve award. Additionally, Gregg helped lead Bolston to Top Newcomer honors in 2017 and Jimenez to Freshman of the Year honors in 2018.
 
From an on-court standpoint, the Vikings have consistently been one of the better three-point shooting teams within the Big Sky Conference under Gregg. Morales led the Big Sky Conference and ranked in the top 20 nationally with 87 three-pointers during the 2023-24 season. Her 87 three-pointers were the second most by a Viking player in school history.
 
During the 2019-20 season, the Vikings shot 37.3 percent from three-point range to set a new Big Sky-era program record. The .373 mark crushed the old record of .359 that the Vikings set two years earlier in 2017-18. The Vikings broke the single-game record with 15 three-pointers against Eastern Washington on Feb. 15 that season, breaking a mark that had stood since Dec. 29, 2007. The Vikings matched the record two weeks later while going 15-of-31 (.484) from deep against Weber State. The Vikings also set a new overall program record with 261 made three-pointers as three different Vikings moved into the single-season top 10 between Belle Frazier (64), Jimenez (63) and Hansen (60).
 
Three of the top five seasons for three-point makes have come in Gregg’s three years as head coach. That includes Morales’ 87 in 2023-24, as well Jada Lewis’ 80 makes from the 2022-23 season and Morales’ 77 makes from the same year.
 
Three of the top 10 scorers all-time have also now played under Gregg. Morales entered the top 10 most recently, finishing her PSU career eighth all-time with 1,365 career points. Bolston and Rielly entered the top 10 during the 2018-19 season. Rielly finished fourth (1,501 points) on the all-time scoring list after becoming just the fourth PSU player to score over 1,500 points her career, while Bolston now ranks 10th with 1,334 career points.
 
Academically, several Vikings have earned honors under Gregg. In her time as head coach, 17 players have been named to the Academic All-Big Sky teams. Morales is also a two-time Academic All-District honoree from the College Sports Communicators, earning the honor by herself in 2023 and then again in 2024 alongside teammate Sofía Llanos.
 
As a team, the Vikings made the WBCA Academic Top 25 Honor Roll for the first time ever following the 2020-21 season. The Vikings ranked tied for the 12th highest GPA in the nation that season with a 3.672 team GPA. They have since earned Special Mention from the WBCA each of the past two seasons with their GPAs of 3.451 from 2021-22 and 3.331 from 2022-23.

TIME SERVED
Before taking over as head coach, Gregg spent six seasons first as an assistant (2015-18) and then associate head coach (2018-21) under Lynn Kennedy. The highlight of her time on Kennedy’s staff came in 2019 when she helped lead the Vikings to their best season as a Division I program.
 
The Vikings won only their second Big Sky tournament title that season, advancing them to the NCAA Division I Tournament for the second time in program history. The 2018-19 Vikings also made history while going 25-8 overall, the most wins in a season during the program’s Big Sky era. Additionally, the Vikings tied Big Sky era records for home wins (14) and Big Sky wins (14), and set a new Big Sky era record for road winning percentage (.615).

The Vikings led the Big Sky in eight different statistical categories during the 2018-19 season, and ranked second in the conference in five more. The Vikings led the Big Sky in scoring margin (+10.4), field goal percentage defense (.356), free throw percentage (.790), defensive rebounds per game (28.1), assists per game (17.2), turnover margin (+1.39), steals per game (9.8) and blocks per game (5.3).
 
The Vikings’ .790 free throw percentage in 2018-19 ranked them fourth nationally in the category. They also ranked in the top 25 of the nation for assists per game (13th, 17.2), field goal percentage defense (13th, .356) and blocks per game (15th, 5.3). 
 
Additionally, the Vikings earned national recognition for their standout 2018-19 season, as they twice were ranked eighth in the espnW Mid-Major Poll and made two appearances in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. The Vikings had never appeared in either poll before the season.

Earlier in her time on the Park Blocks, Gregg helped the Vikings post the nation’s biggest turnaround in team field goal percentage in 2016-17. The Vikings shot .450 as a team that season after shooting .358 from the field in 2015-16. Rielly posted the top field goal percentage in the nation by a guard that year, as she shot .530 from the field.
 
The Vikings’ .450 field goal percentage in 2016-17 was the team’s best shooting mark since joining the Big Sky Conference before the 1996-97 season.
 
PREVIOUS COACHING STOPS AND PLAYING CAREER
Gregg came to the Park Blocks after serving two seasons as an assistant coach under Kennedy at Southern Oregon University, where she also played collegiately. While at Southern Oregon, Gregg served as the travel coordinator and was responsible for student-athlete academic standards, monitoring, and retention.

During her time in Ashland, Gregg was part of two of the best teams in program history, both as a player and as a coach. Gregg and the Raiders went 29-5 during her senior season in 2007-08, and then went 27-5 in 2014-15 with Gregg as an assistant. The Raiders also made the NAIA Sweet 16 in 2014-15, and were ranked as high as eighth in the nation that season.

Gregg also spent four years as an assistant coach at the University of Great Falls (now the University of Providence). Gregg assisted with scheduling, scouting, player development, academics, budgeting and on-court coaching while at Great Falls, and served as the program’s camp director. Gregg coached a pair of future NAIA All-Americans while at Great Falls, and helped the team rank among the best academic teams in the NAIA with a 3.65 GPA in 2013.
 
Gregg graduated from the University of Great Falls with an M.A. in Secondary Education in 2011. Gregg graduated from Southern Oregon in 2009 with a B.S. in Health and Physical Education and a minor in Spanish.