The staff behind the Purdue women's basketball recruiting frenzy
When Mark Stephens was first hired by Katie Gearlds and Purdue, he made his objective perfectly clear. Be the best recruiting coordinator in the country.
It hasn't taken him long to prove that goal could be in the cards in the near future. Adding Stephens to the coaching staff in West Lafayette has paid dividends on the recruiting trail for the Boilermakers, who are now amongst the hottest programs on that front in the country. Katie Gearlds credits much of that success to Stephens.
"Everything about our recruiting world has changed because Mark has taken us to another level," Gearlds said. "He's elevated that part of our program."
Since Stephens and former Boilermaker Kelly Komara joined Gearlds' staff in April, Purdue has been on a tear in the recruiting world. It started just a few weeks after their arrivals, when four-star sisters Amiyah Reynolds (2023 recruit) and Mila Reynolds (Maryland transfer) each announced their commitments to the program.
That set the stage for a recruiting run that has put Katie Gearlds' program back on the map as a potential elite women’s basketball program
Less than a week later, another highly-touted prospects declared her intentions of joining the Boilermakers, this time it was 2024 four-star point guard Jordyn Poole.
The hits have just kept rolling since then.
Purdue added Grand Canyon transfer Alaina Harper into the fold, joining her older sister Caitlyn with the Boilermakers, followed by the commitment of 2024 forward Lana McCarthy to next year's class.
Those gets had people buzzing, but the most recent commitments have sent that excitement through the roof. Last week, the Boilermakers netted pledges from top in-state 2025 prospects Kira Reynolds and Avery Gordon, who are both ranked in the top 60 of the class.
In the last six months, Purdue has secured seven commitments, five of which were previously or are currently consensus four-star recruits and nationally ranked in their respective classes.
That doesn't even included the top 25 haul in the country for the 2023 recruiting class, which originally consisted of Rashunda Jones, Mary Ashley Stevenson, McKenna Layden, Emily Monson and Sophie Swanson.
At the heart of that momentum has been Purdue's success in the state of Indiana.
Stephens pointed to Purdue's 1999 National Championship squad, which featured nine players who hailed from the Boilermakers' backyard, believing that sets the groundwork for the program's success.
"I think, in-state recruiting is a priority. And I think it's a priority because Indiana does have rich basketball and if we can keep those kids at home," Stephens said. "The state of Indiana has enough that we can ride that but again, you know, our job is to get the best players in the country no matter where they're from."
Being able to stay home and play her college career at a premiere program, despite best efforts of Iowa, Ohio State and others, was a big selling point for 2025 four-star Avery Gordon.
"It feels really good and it feels even more special since I'm an Indiana kid and I grew up in Indiana and so it's really exciting," Gordon told Boiler Upload after her commitment.
Gordon is one of the seven players who will be entering the program over the next three years who hails from Indiana, along with all three Reynolds sisters, Jones, Layden, and Poole.
The current class of in-state Boilermakers, who came to West Lafayette this off-season were all Indiana All-Stars following their high school careers. It's almost a forgone conclusion that Gordon, Poole and Kira Reynolds will join that sorority in the coming years, while all three are set to be front runners for Indiana Miss Basketball as well.
Associate head coach Kelly Komara, who was a part of the 1999 team and the Indiana Miss Basketball in 1998, shared the same sentiments as Stephens regarding in-state recruiting, knowing just how much talent comes from the Indiana pool year in and year out.
"It starts in your backyard first and then you kind of work out from there. But to have as many kids as we have from Indiana and those coming to Purdue, I think is speaking volumes to our commitment to owning the state and being somebody that these players want to play for," Komara said.
Komara isn't the only coach on staff who has that distinction. Head coach Katie Gearlds also won Indiana Miss Basketball in 2003 before starring with the Boilermakers for four years, while assistant coach Alex Guyton was an Indiana All-Star and a standout in West Lafayette during her college career.
What better way to sell the program than having a trio of coaches that were key pieces on some of the best Purdue teams in history on staff in West Lafayette? Komara and Guyton don't think there is one.
"I think one of the things about Purdue that makes it pretty special is it doesn't matter if you played in 1999 to 2000 or 2005 to 2010. We all are family. I know that's cliche and people say that a lot but for three generations of players to come back and want to be on the same coaching staff that had not known each other or been teammates speaks to the level of our culture and the level of family that we have here at Purdue," Komara said.
"I've been lucky to have my played my career here and having great tradition and passion for Purdue. So for me, it's an easy sell to talk to recruits about what this university has not only done for me on court, but off the court as well," Guyton said.
Teaming up with three former players returning to their alma mater makes Stephens job even more important in his mind, who wants to see the likes of Gearlds, Komara and Guyton succeed just as much as his players.
"It gives me a sense of pride --- just the three great ladies that I have the privilege to get to coach with every day," Stephens said. "I think that's what really, really motivates me."
While Stephens isn't from Indiana, nor did he play at Purdue, the new recruiting coordinator is no stranger to the state or the Boilermakers. He has coached or served as a mentor for 17 athletes that have gone on to play for the Boilermakers, ranging from men's and women's basketball to football to baseball.
That stems from his 14 years of experience with Hoosier based AAU programs Indiana Elite and Lady Gym Rats starting in the early 2000s, while also serving as a high school coach for three Indianapolis area schools.
Those prior stops within the state have helped Stephens gain a better understanding of the landscape and build countless relationships that he thinks now gives Purdue an advantage in the recruiting world.
"I'm in a unique position, just actually coaching in high school and AAU basketball, so I know what Purdue is," Stephens said. "I think people just know that I'm genuine. I try to do things the right way and do things for the right reasons and I think I foster a lot of just genuine relationships, you know, where I can call up a club coach or a high school coach and just have normal conversations."
While a program on the rise, top of the line facilities, and a family atmosphere within the program are all things Stephens leans on in recruiting, his core values of being genuine and building those authentic relationships are what he always falls back to.
"I think the biggest thing for me is just to be genuine," Stephens said. "Recruiting is as easy as just working hard and doing things the right way."
That personality is something that has fit right in for Purdue and its new-look coaching staff heading into the 2023-24 campaign, according to Komara, who thinks the staff's differing styles make for success on the recruiting trail.
"I think personality. I think it's all about relationships and we're all very different. Katie's much more chill and laid back and Mark's a little bit more of like that uncle sort of figure and I guess I'm their crazy that will love on them and hug them, make talk to me and get them uncomfortable and then Alex is kind of there as more of a mentor and a guiding force," Komara said.
Guyton, who is in her fifth year on staff in West Lafayette, has evolved into a mentor for players after having the same done for her when she played with the Boilermakers.
"I've gotten to see a lot and learn a lot," Guyton said. "Being able to tap into the girls and understanding how to relate to them and how they see things as a college athlete navigating things now."
One of the driving factors behind 2024 guard Jordyn Poole's commitment to the Boilermakers was her comfortability with Katie Gearlds and staff, which made West Lafayette an easy choice.
"I had a good feeling on the campus and being around all the people. It was just a good experience for me. I feel comfortable with all the coaches and I have a good relationship with them," Poole said in September.
Stephens has been the missing piece of the coaching staff that's helped take Purdue to the next level on the recruiting trail over the last six months. There's not some special formula that's lead to that success.
It's as simple as being genuine and supplementing the existing culture in West Lafayette that has resulted in the Boilermakers being one of the hottest teams in the country.
"You're gonna win some kids, you're gonna lose some kids. But, I think if you just kind of stay true to yourself and stay true to the mission and the message that our coaching staff is trying to send, you can kind of see the kids that we're kind of bringing in," Stephens said.
While the staff has yielded positive results, you can't go without mentioning the leader of the program, Katie Gearlds, who has the reputation of being a monster recruiter, but now that prowess is beginning to show with the Boilermakers. A pair of 2023 recruits identified her as one of their top reasons for setting their sights on West Lafayette.
"Definitely Coach Katie. She's a great coach, she definitely drew me here from the start," Amiyah Reynolds said. "She definitely brings a lot of energy and what I want in a coach."
"I love her. I think it's important to have a coach that builds your confidence and lets you play how you want to play and I knew after I talked to her that she was going to be that type of person," McKenna Layden said.
Now, Gearlds has the staff that is best equipped to help her take Purdue to the next level, and ultimately back where she wants to have the Boilermakers. Competing for championships.