A Purdue homecoming was always in the plans for Kelly Komara

Kelly Komara’s basketball journey has taken her around the country and even overseas, but from her final game in Mackey Arena, the desire to one day return to Purdue never left her mind.

“In my senior year speech, and obviously that was 20-some years ago, I always knew I’d be back,” Komara told Boiler Upload.

The former Boilermaker guard made that desire a reality once before but now comes home for the second time in her coaching career after being hired as the program’s new associate head coach in April.

Purdue fans had long respected Komara’s style on the court as a fierce defender and a key cog on several Boilermaker squads, including the 1999 National Championship team. That admiration remains intact as she steps into a new role with the program, which she hopes adds to the anticipation moving forward.

“It was a two-way street,” Komara said of the respect between herself and the Boilermaker faithful. “I absolutely loved it, and they loved us. So, I think being back on campus, hopefully, is creating a little bit of a buzz. We want the fans to come back and be excited about Purdue because I can’t wait for it to happen.”

Komara’s return was kickstarted by now,former associate head coach Beth Couture’s retirement following the 2022-2023 campaign. Komara had spent the last two seasons on Megan Duffy’s staff at Marquette before head coach Katie Gearlds came calling.

Gearlds and Komara spoke on the phone about the new opening on staff, and after talking things over with her family, Komara was ready to make her return to West Lafayette.

“This is something that I’ve been praying about and dreaming about for a long time,” Komara said of the opportunity. “It seemed like something that was exactly the right timing in my life and in my career.”

The homecoming was years in the making for the future Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Famer. Following her standout career with the Boilermakers and stints in the WNBA, National Women’s Basketball League, and Greece, Komara dove headfirst into the coaching world, where she’s been ever since.

After staying around the program following her playing career, the coaching journey was kickstarted with Nell Fortner, who recruited Komara to Purdue before leaving to become Team USA’s head coach ahead of the 2000 Olympics. The two reunited when Fortner became the head coach at Auburn, where Komara spent two years as a graduate assistant. She then made stops at Northwestern, Valparaiso, and Albany before returning to her alma mater for the first time.

Komara joined former Purdue head coach Sharon Versyp’s staff in 2014, where she helped guide the Boilermakers to a 20-12 record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament in her second season. Despite that momentum, her first stint on the sidelines was short-lived after another former Boilermaker came calling. Komara left to team up with some familiar faces at Vanderbilt following the 2015-2016 campaign.

“That two-year stint, I loved it. It was great, and everything about it was great,” Komara said. “But, when Stephanie White calls and says, ‘Hey, me and Carolyn Peck are going to be down in Nashville. Do you want to come down?’ I mean, that’s a really hard thing to turn down.”

At nearly every step of her coaching career, Komara has been accompanied by a fellow Boilermaker in some form or fashion, from Nell Fortner to Carolyn Peck to Stephanie White. Komara has been around countless Purdue alumni, and very few can measure up to the same level of admiration she has for her alma mater, but one of them that can is her new co-worker.

“Only two or three people that have ever played at Purdue or worn the jersey love it as much as I do. Katie Gearlds is probably one of them,” Komara said.

That shared appreciation for the old gold and black with the Boilermakers’ head coach made coming home an attractive offer to Komara. She believes the newly formed duo of herself and Gearlds will have the recipe to consistently put Purdue back into the national landscape.

“We share that passion, and we share sort of that drive to make Purdue great. The opportunity to have both of us on the same staff and two people that are extremely driven to get the tradition back to where it was, for me, was just a no-brainer.”

Komara was no stranger to winning during her playing career with the Boilermakers. Her class finished their college career with the highest winning percentage in program history, going 112-22 over four years.

She was a key piece on the Boilermakers’ 1999 National Championship team, alongside the likes of Stephanie White, Ukari Figgs, and Katie Douglas. As Komara joins the staff ahead of the 2023-2024 season, she wants the Boilermakers to resemble the successful Purdue teams of the past and knows exactly how they can accomplish that goal.

“One of the things that I remember as a player at Purdue and the reason why we won the National Championship in 1999 wasn’t by any means because we were the most talented team in women’s college basketball; it was because we worked really hard,” Komara said.

Katie Gearlds brings Komara into the fold to help oversee the guard group for the Boilermakers next season, a unit headlined by returning veterans Abby Ellis and Jeanae Terry, along with a promising group of incoming freshmen.

Komara already knows the identity she wants her group to have. It is what she became known for during her college career in West Lafayette.

“The thing I really, really want that’s near and dear to my heart is, I want a guard group that’s connected and fierce. I want everybody in the Big Ten and across the country to go, holy cow, the guards at Purdue are nasty,” Komara said.

That is on par with how the new associate head coach played inside Mackey Arena for four years. Komara earned an All-Big Ten honors three times and won the 2002 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. Her single-season mark of 120 steals also remains a program record.

“I think there needs to be; what we’ve prided ourselves forever at Purdue is getting back to that hard hat blue-collar work ethic,” Komara said.

Part of accomplishing that objective will be Komara’s work on the recruiting trail. In the days of NIL and the transfer portal wave, she doesn’t have a special philosophy or secret. Komara is the proof of what Purdue can provide for athletes, which she hopes to convey to recruits.

“It’s not recruiting for me. I’m not selling anything. I’m an example of what Purdue has done for me in my life and in my career. I loved my four years, and it’s easy to talk about it,” Komara said.

One of the factors recruits talk about most is finding a family atmosphere that will help them succeed at the college level. Komara shared that she believes there is no better example of a family than the one they have at Purdue.

“How can there be any better example of a family than three alums that are now coaching at their alma mater?” Komara said.

Komara spent time away from that family over the last 20 years since graduating, but her heart was always at home in West Lafayette, where she hopes to bring the program back to prominence in the coming years.