Penn State Women's Basketball Names New General Manager

Penn State has hired another program-specific general manager. Less than a month after Penn State men's basketball hired a GM, the women's basketball team followed suit. Lady Lions coach Carolyn Kieger named Jason Crafton as the program's first general manager.

Crafton, who most recently worked at Columbia, also will serve as an assistant coach on Kieger's staff. Crafton brings head-coaching experience to the role in addition to the front-office experience he gained at Columbia. He also has worked with Jay Wright at Villanova and former Penn State coach Ed DeChellis at Navy.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jason to our staff,” Kieger said in a statement. "With extensive experience coaching and managing at the highest levels of the game, Jason brings an elite understanding of player development, roster construction and competitive excellence. His proven leadership, deep knowledge of the game and ability to build string relationships will play a vital role in advancing our program’s pursuit of excellence.”

Both Penn State basketball programs have hired general managers for the first time. In May, men's basketball coach Mike Rhoades hired Scott Pera, the former head coach at Rice, where the two worked together. Pera will be charged with roster-building and fundraising for the Nittany Lions.

Crafton will serve a similar role for the Penn State women's basketball team. In a news release, Penn State said that Crafton will help build and maintain the roster, and develop NIL strategies.

Croafton most recently served one year as chief program strategist for the Columbia men's basketball team. In that role, Crafton "worked closely with head coach Jim Engles and the rest of the staff to provide innovative ideas to enhance the growth of the program on and off the court," according to the Penn State news release.

Prior to Columbia, Crafton was the head men's basketball coach at University of Maryland-Baltimore County. His 2022-23 team went 18-13, beating Temple, and Crafton was a finalist for the Ben Jobe Coach of the Year Award.

Crafton also coached at Delaware and Navy, where he worked with DeChellis as associate head coach. He left Navy in 2012 to become head coach at Nyack, his alma mater. Crafton began his basketball career in 2003 as Wright's video coordinator at Villanova. Crafton played four seasons at Nyack, where he was a two-time captain.

The Lady Lions went 10-19 last season and 1-17 in the Big Ten. Keiger enters her seventh season as head coach.