BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – One of the top players in Bowling Green State University women's basketball history is returning to BG.

Head coach Fred Chmiel has announced the addition of Kadie Hempfling to his staff. Hempfling joins the Falcons as an assistant coach after spending the 2024-25 season on the staff at Ohio Northern University. A native of Ottawa, Ohio, she enjoyed a stellar five-year playing career for the Falcons.

"Kadie is a great addition to our staff for a multitude of reasons," said Chmiel. "She is an alum with great passion and energy for the community and the University. We are thrilled to welcome her back to BGSU!"

During her time in Ada, Hempfling helped head coach Mark Huelsman's Polar Bears to an overall record of 19-8 and a 14-4 mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference. ONU finished second in the conference regular-seaosn standings and advanced to the championship game of the league tournament.

"To be asked to come back to the university where I poured my heart into everything I did on and off the court is an honor beyond words," said Hempfling. "This place and this community shaped me as a player and a person.

"I have so much gratitude for Coach Chmiel and the opportunity to come back and help shape the next generation as a coach at a place I deeply love. I am also grateful to give back to the program and community that gave me so much. As always, Go Falcons!"

Hempfling made her mark on the court at BGSU during a stellar five-year career.

She was named to the All-Mid-American Conference Third Team in both 2020-21 and '21-22. A multiple-year team captain, she led the Falcons in scoring in the 2021-22 campaign, with 11.7 points per game, and also paced BGSU in field-goal percentage (49.8%) while ranking fourth in rebounding (4.6 rpg), assists (1.76 apg) and steals (1.03 spg).

Hempfling, the lone Falcon to start all 33 games in '21-22, led the Falcons in plus/minus rating, at +93. She hit 51 three-point field goals and shot 43.2% from the arc.

After coming off the bench to make her collegiate debut, Hempfling started the next 122 games through the end of the 2021-22 campaign. She came off the bench in the 2022-23 season for a loaded Falcon team that went 31-7 overall and advanced to the semifinal round of the WNIT, and wound up playing in a school-record 155 games as a Falcon. She is ranked on the following BGSU career lists...

    • Games Played: 155, FIRST
    • Games Started: 122, fifth
    • Points: 1,281, 18th
    • Rebounds: 809, eighth
    • Assists: 432, seventh
    • Assists Per Game: 2.79, 15th
    • Three-Point FG Made: 148, 16th
    • Three-Point FG Attempted: 426, 15th
    • Steals: 166, 18th
    • Field Goals Attempted: 1,107, 15th

Hempfling scored the 1,000th point of her career in a win over Western Michigan on Jan. 26, 2022, and pulled down her 700th rebound as a Falcon three days later. Then, less than a month after that, Hempfling dished out the 400th assist of her storied BGSU career.

Hempfling is the only player in BGSU women's basketball history with at least 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 400 assists.

In 2020-21, Hempfling averaged 12.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest. She ranked among the top-three players on the team in scoring, rebounding and assists (3.0 apg), and led the Falcons in plus/minus ratio.

More importantly, Hempfling helped that '20-21 club to a MAC championship. The Falcons went 21-8 overall and 14-4 in conference play, capturing the regular-season title after being picked to finish 11th in the 12-team league in the preseason coaches' poll.

Hempfling, a graduate of Ottawa-Glandorf H.S., earned her undergraduate degree from BGSU in December of 2021. A psychology major with a minor in science, she had a 3.828 cumulative grade-point average as an undergrad. Hempfling earned an MBA from BGSU in 2023. She was named to the Academic All-MAC Team no fewer than four times.

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