Ella Skeens enters her second season as Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Wheeling University. She previously worked with the team as a Graduate Assistant and a full-time assistant, and took over the reins in the 2025-2026 season.
In her first season at the helm, she led the Cardinals to a 17-12 overall record and a 12-8 record in MEC play. Wheeling earned the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament before falling to Charleston 69-55 in the quarterfinals. Her squad earned two All-Conference honors; Kenzie Dalton was named Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season along with a First-Team nomination and Emilia Sierra Lacosta was named to the Second-Team.
In 2024-2025, Skeens was promoted to full time assistant coach and helped the Cardinals to their highest seeding in the MEC Tournament since the COVID 2021 season at 17-12 overall and 13-7 in MEC play. She was primarily responsible for game planning and assisting in the defensive scheme for the team. She helped junior guard Kenzie Dalton earn the first MEC Defensive Player of the Year honor. Under her watch, the Cardinals claimed the No. 3 seed in the MEC Tournament.
During the 2023-2024 season Skeens worked in all aspects of the Women's Basketball program, helping them to a historic start to the year. She assisted Head Coach Anna Kowalska in the creation of scouting reports for the opposition while also working heavily with the team's guards. Skeens was able to help Shamia Strayhorn earn First Team All-MEC honors for the first time in her career and helped lead the Cardinals to the No. 5 seed in the 2024 MEC Tournament.
Prior to joining the Wheeling University coaching staff, Skeens played two seasons at the University of Rio Grande. She helped lead the Red Storm to two conference championships in two seasons while also leading the school's first-ever trip to nationals. She was a two-time conference Player of the Year with the Red Storm and earned an NAIA All-American award. She was also named the River States Conference Player of the Year following the 2022-23 season.
Prior to Rio Grande, Skeens spent the COVID season with Ball State, and spent the two prior seasons with the University of Dayton, where she played from 2018 to 2019. She helped lead the Flyers to the Atlantic 10 Championship and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Skeens completed her Master’s in Business Administration in 2024 at Wheeling University.
| Year |
Overall Record |
MEC Record |
| 2025-26 |
17-12 |
12-8 |
| Total (1 year) |
17-12 |
12-8 |
