CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland State women's basketball head coach Bob Dunn announced the additions of Mariah White, Lauren Macer and Rachel Balzer to his coaching staff for the 2026-27 campaign, with all three set to serve as assistant coaches.
 
Mariah White
White rejoins the Vikings after spending the last four years in various roles at Bowling Green, VCU and Virginia. Most recently, White served as the assistant director for alumni engagement and connections at Bowling Green and as an academic advisor at VCU.
 
Prior to this, White was named the director of recruiting operations for Virginia women's basketball, serving in the role during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. While at Virginia, White helped the Cavaliers earn a bid into the 2024 WBIT, advancing to the second round of the inaugural tournament.
 
"We are thrilled to welcome Mariah back to her alma mater! Her passion for CSU, commitment to mentoring and connecting with young people, and dedication to excellence make her a tremendous addition to our program," Dunn said. "Mariah's experiences as a Cleveland State student-athlete, combined with her leadership roles at other universities, have prepared her to make an immediate and lasting impact on our student-athletes, our program, and the entire CSU community. Welcome home, Mariah!"
 
White was a four-year member of the Cleveland State women's basketball team, earning back-to-back Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year awards along with three All-Defensive Team nods and a pair of All-League First and Second Team honors.
 
As a junior, White helped the Vikings to a 21-win campaign, the first 20-win season since 2011. As a senior, White led Cleveland State to the 2021 WBI Championship, marking the first postseason title in program history.
 
White finished her Cleveland State career ranked in a variety of career records, including steals (6^th-230), free throws made (6^th-312) and points (14^th-1,320).
 
While at CSU, White was recognized as the 2021 Arthur Ashe Jr. Female Sports Scholar of the Year and was a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, and graduated with a degree in liberal arts and studies.
 
Following her time at CSU, White spent the 2021-22 campaign at Missouri State, where she earned a spot on the Missouri Valley Conference All-Newcomer Team, averaging 8.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, helping the Lady Bears earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Lauren Macer
Macer comes to Cleveland State with more than a decade of collegiate basketball experience, most recently serving as the head coach at Lake Erie College during the 2024-25 and 2025-26 campaigns.
 
"Lauren's extensive experience as a head coach, assistant coach, and former collegiate player will greatly influence our student-athletes and staff," said Dunn. "She is very familiar with our program, knows the areas we will recruit, and will be a strong relationship builder with our players. We are excited Lauren and her daughter, Macey, will be joining us in Cleveland!"
 
Prior to Lake Erie, Macer held the same position at her alma mater – Notre Dame College – where she was named the Mountain East Conference Coach of the Year and led the Falcons to the program's first-ever NCAA Division II Tournament appearance.
 
During her five seasons at Notre Dame, Macer compiled a record of 89-51, earning a spot in the Mountain East Conference Tournament each year. During 2020 Macer led the Falcons to a MEC Regular Season and Tournament championship, while also guiding NDC to the conference tournament championship game in 2018.
 
Macer also spent two years as an assistant coach at Purdue Fort Wayne, helping the Mastodons to their first appearance in the Horizon League Tournament semifinals during the 2022-23 campaign. During her first season at PFW, Macer helped the Mastodons post the second-best free throw percentage among Division I schools, while four Mastodons earned All-League accolades throughout her time at PFW.
 
In addition, Macer also spent time as a graduate assistant and assistant coach at Notre Dame College.
 
During her collegiate playing career at Notre Dame, Macer was a 1,000-point scorer, and graduated as the best free throw shooter in program history.
 
A native of Twinsburg, Ohio, Macer is a member of the Twinsburg High School Hall of Fame.

Rachel Balzer 
Balzer joins the Vikings after spending the previous three seasons at Longwood, where she was an assistant coach for the 2025-26 and 2024-25 campaigns and the director of basketball operations/player development during the 2023-24 season. In addition, Balzer was promoted to recruiting coordinator last season.
 
"I have known Rachel for nearly half of her life, and she was one of the first people I called after accepting this job," Dunn said. "As a player, she was a true gym rat with a high basketball IQ. As a young coach, she has already been part of two winning programs and brings valuable experience and knowledge that will benefit our staff and players. We're excited to welcome Rachel to Cleveland!"

While at Longwood, Balzer helped the Lancers to back-to-back 20-win campaigns – marking a program first at the Division I level – while also helping Longwood to a Big South Championship game appearance and WNIT bid during the 2024-25 campaign.
 
During her three seasons at Longwood, the Lancers earned 11 postseason honors, including a pair of Defensive Player of the Year accolades.
 
Earlier this spring, Balzer was named to the WBCA's Thirty Under 30 List, which recognizes up-and-coming coaches in the women's basketball game.
 
Balzer played collegiately at George Mason where she was recruited and coached by Dunn, playing for three seasons before moving into a coaching intern role following injuries that shortened her career.