WASHINGTON - Two assistant coaches have hit the ground running for head coach Tiffany Coll's women's basketball staff at American University. Kaity Healy, who comes to AU from Fairleigh Dickinson, and 2016 AU graduate Michelle Holmes were both hired in July to help fill the staff for Coll in her first year at the helm.

"I'm thrilled to have Kaity and Michelle joining our staff as they will be great coaches and mentors for the young women in our program," said Coll. "Kaity has a contagious aura of positivity, and her playing and coaching experience will have an immediate impact on our team. Everyone I spoke to raves about Kaity's work ethic, attention to detail, and passion for excellence. As an alumna of the program, Michelle knows first-hand what it takes to succeed academically and athletically at American and she is excited to pay that knowledge forward to our current Eagles. She understands what it takes to win at a high level as she was a member of our program's first Patriot League championship team. I look forward to coaching alongside Kaity and Michelle as we work to build upon the successful tradition of this program." 

Healy, a native of Freehold, N.J., has gained a variety of experience over the past three seasons with stops at FDU in 2021-22 as assistant coach, Florida International University (FIU) in 2020-21 as the assistant director of basketball operations, and Patriot League foe Holy Cross in 2019-20 as the director of basketball operations. Healy helped guide FDU to a Northeast Conference regular season title and WNIT berth last year, and was part of the NEC Coaching Staff of the Year while at FDU and the Conference USA Coaching Staff of the Year while at FIU.

"I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity to join Coach Coll's staff at American," said Healy. "This program has had much success over the years and will continue to provide a championship-level experience on and off the court. I am so thankful and excited to have the chance to impact this program and contribute to its success."  

In her playing days, Healy was a four-year letterwinner and three-time team captain for Seton Hall, competing for the Pirates from 2015 until 2019. Off the court, she was a four-year selection to the Dean's List for Seton Hall's Stillman School of Business and to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team. In 2018, she was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, an honor society for student-athletes holding a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher.

Throughout her collegiate career, Healy received multiple opportunities for leadership development, including being named to the Class of 2019 for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's "So You Want to Be A Coach" program. She was selected to attend the New Jersey Association of Athletics for Women Leadership Symposium in 2018, and she also participated in the University and BIG EAST Time Management Plan Committee in 2017-2018.

Healy was also the women's basketball team representative for Seton Hall's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and represented Seton Hall at the BIG EAST's annual SAAC Meeting in 2017, in which student-athletes from BIG EAST schools gathered to discuss and increase awareness of mental health issues.

Holmes returns to American women's basketball as an assistant coach from a different career path. After graduating in 2016 with a degree in sociology, Holmes served in AmeriCorps VISTA doing research and evaluation.  She then worked as a market researcher until she became a Special Agent with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency iin January 2018, where she conducted national security background investigations. 

Getting her start in coaching at her alma mater, and alongside a coach she played for, is extremely special for Holmes.

"First, I want to thank Coach Tiffany Coll for this opportunity," said Holmes. "She believed in me as a player and now as a coach, and I am truly grateful. I'm blessed to be given the opportunity to give back to a program that has given me so much. I am excited for this next chapter and ready to get started." 

Holmes was a standout post player and two-time team captain for the Eagles, helping lead the team to its first-ever Patriot League Championship as a junior in 2014-15. She was named to both the Patriot League Third Team and Patriot League All-Tournament Team, leading the team with 220 rebounds (6.7 per game) which ranks sixth all-time in a single season. Holmes holds the AU record for single-season field-goal percentage, hitting 64.3 percent of her shots as a sophomore, and ranks third all-time in career field-goal percentage at .535. Her 556 career rebounds rank 16th all-time.

For the latest on American University Women's Basketball, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_WBasketball) and Instagram (@auwbasketball).