The Journey: Chaia Meier returns to home-state as she takes over at Bradley

On3’s Talia Goodman is showcasing women’s college basketball coaches taking over at new schools. This is the third edition of the series – in which we’ll take a deeper look at some of the 60-plus coaches who took over new programs during a turbulent offseason. This time we learn more about Chaia Meier, the new head coach at Bradley.

Chaia Meier bio

HOMETOWN: Normal, IL
EXPERIENCE: Marquette (2024-26) – Assistant Coach Edgewood College (2016-24) – Head Coach, Grace University (2015-16) – Head Coach, Moody Bible Institute (2009-15) – Head Coach, Dominican University (2007-09) – Assistant Coach

Why Bradley?

Meier wasn’t looking to leave Marquette. She had gone there with head coach Cara Consuegra to help build the program and that was the plan. But when Bradley came calling, the plan changed quickly.

“I grew up in Normal, Illinois, which is about 35 ish minutes from Bradley,” she said. “So this is home for me and all of my family is here. In the coaching life, the chances of you getting to coach by your family are not high.”

Her parents, both sisters, nieces and her kids’ cousins are all in the area. Her family had never been able to attend more than a handful of games a season. The Missouri Valley Conference itself also carries a personal weight. Meier grew up attending MVC games and camps. 

“That was my first introduction to women’s basketball, going to the Missouri Valley Conference,” she said. “So I’m familiar with it and it’s nostalgic for me and it’s home.”

Athletic director Chris Reynolds’ vision sealed it. 

“He really wants women’s basketball to go here and grow here, and they are investing resources in it, and have done nothing but say yes to me since I got here…,” Meier said. “The men have always been good here – big basketball town, big basketball community – I’ve been just overwhelmed with the support.”

Building the roster in a new era

Meier was hired on a Thursday, just days before the transfer portal opened on Monday, and she used every hour of that window to get ahead of the chaos.

“I spent Thursday through Monday basically recruiting the team that was here,” she said. “There’s gonna be 10,000 things coming at you, but your first few days there have to be about that team in this landscape.”

She met with returners as a group, FaceTimed those who were home for Easter weekend and quickly reviewed each player’s NIL situation. The effort paid off: she retained seven of eight potential returners. 

“That was massive for me,” she said.

The foundation was more solid than it might have appeared from the outside. Four incoming freshmen were already committed and Meier brought one of her former Marquette players, Charia Smith, with her – a graduate student with a year of eligibility remaining due to an injury she’d had.

“I had been shopping her to all my friends, actually…,” Meier laughed. “I called her and I was like, well, let me throw my hat in the ring.”

Her pitch to the returners was straightforward: don’t start over. 

“The history of Bradley has been, they get good, they have a good year, and then the coach leaves or a couple of good players leave,” she said. “I said, let’s stay and let’s keep it going. Let’s not go back to ground zero.”

Meier’s coaching style and mindset

Meier inherited a team that already played motion offense, which happens to be exactly what she runs. The transition, at least schematically, was smoother than it could have been elsewhere.

“They have some bones and some pieces there…,” she said. “We would like to go five out, maybe four out…We kind of just want to run a fluid motion, a lot of read and react, a lot of freedom. That’s how I like to play. Let’s play really fast.”

Defensively, Bradley was one of the best in the Missouri Valley last year, and Meier intends to keep it that way. 

“They played a gap defense, which so do I, and so some of it just lined up really nicely for what we do and how we want to do it,” she said.

Off the court, Meier’s approach is defined by relationships. She points to a quote she’s carried with her for years: you can do this job and be kind.

“I’m not a dictator coach and I’m not a big yeller and a screamer…,” she said. “I’m going to be very relational… I’m going to want to know who you are. You know, if you tell me you got a test, I’m going to ask you about it a day later. That’s sort of who I am.”

She sold her returners on something beyond x’s and o’s. 

“I said, you love the school, so that’s not a risk for you. You love your teammates, that’s not a risk for you. You go in that portal, your new coach is a risk, that school’s a risk, your team is a risk. So you got three risks,” she said. “Happiness is not underrated.”

A name to watch: Ellie McDermid

When asked about next season and a player who may surprise people, the answer was almost immediate.

“I think Ellie McDermid is a good one,” she said. 

McDermid earned Missouri Valley All-Freshman Team honors in her first year before a more difficult sophomore campaign, moving between positions and struggling to find her footing. This spring, Meier has seen a different player.

“She has really responded to our workouts and our style…She’s really, really hard on herself,” Meier said. “I usually do well with kids like that.” 

McDermid’s versatility – she can slash, put the ball on the floor, shoot the three and plays with a high motor – fits naturally into Meier’s motion system. 

“I think she’s gonna have a great year.”

Something you may not know about Meier

There are two things Bradley fans will soon find out about their new head coach.

First: Meier is a lifelong Green Bay Packers fan. Her family has held season tickets her entire life and her Wisconsin home was completely decked out in a whole Packer basement. The extra distance from Lambeau Field was, she admits, on her con list when weighing the Bradley job.

Second: before she was a basketball coach, she was a singer. Meier took piano lessons for 15 years, sang in church worship bands, led worship teams and toured internationally with her collegiate choir, including trips to Japan and Korea.

“I love to sing,” she said. “I don’t have much time for it anymore, but I was always in church, always on worship teams and led everything.”