Pittsburgh, Pa. – Duquesne University women's basketball head coach
Dan Burt announced Monday the promotion of
Vanessa Abel to associate head coach.
"Vanessa has worked very hard in all areas of our program to earn this position," Burt said. "From the first moments of Vanessa's career as a player at Duquesne to today, I've always known that no one will outwork or care more for Duquesne. I'm incredibly proud that Vanessa has been a part of our program for more than half of her adult life. Vanessa is family."
Abel, who enters her sixth season with the Dukes in 2024-25, was an assistant coach for the last five seasons. She returned to her alma mater in 2019 before being promoted to offensive coordinator in just her fourth year. Under her direction, Duquesne's offense has ranked in the top five of the Atlantic 10 conference while sitting in the top three in three-pointers per contest. In 2023-24, the Dukes featured six players surpassing the 1,000-point plateau, a rare feature that only four other schools in the country accomplished.
"I am honored and humbled to be named the Associate Head Coach for the Duquesne women's basketball program," Abel said. "I would like to give a special thank you to Coach
Dan Burt for this for this opportunity. I would also like to thank our administration and our support staff for trusting and believing in my abilities on and off the court. Additionally, I would like to thank every current and former student-athlete that molded me into the coach I am today. I am extremely grateful for this new position and excited to continue to build on the foundation we've laid together as a program."
A native of Scottdale, Pa., Abel continued to have an impact on the game as she was selected to the 2024 inaugural Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Next Generation Institute this past season. She was one of just three Atlantic 10 coaches to be chosen.
Prior to returning to the Bluff, Abel had stops at Western Michigan and Saint Francis. In her one season at Western Michigan, Abel helped the Broncos land a recruiting class ranked second in the Mid-American Conference by ASGR Basketball. Before her move to Kalamazoo, Mich., Abel helped Saint Francis U to a 41-25 record (29-7 in Northeast Conference play) as an assistant in 2016-17 & 2017-18. While in Loretto, Pa., she was part of a staff that guided the 2018 Red Flash (24-10) to a share of the NEC regular-season title, conference tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament.
Abel was an integral part of four 20-win Duquesne WNIT teams as a player and finished her career ranked among the school's top 10 in assists, steals, and three-point percentage. The Pennsylvania native was a third team All-Atlantic 10 pick her junior year and helped her squad go 24-9 that season. Abel played for the Dukes that went a combined 88-41 while winning nine or more A-10 games three times in her four seasons. She completed her undergraduate degree in 2012 while adding a masters in 2013, both being completed at Duquesne.
