Jessica Hartmann - Assistant Coach / Recruiting Coordinator - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Jessica Hartmann

Title:
Assistant Coach / Recruiting Coordinator
Email:
Office:
HAH 341

Jessica Hartmann enters her 13^th season as the lead assistant and recruiting coordinator of St. Cloud State Women’s Basketball in 2025-26. Serving an instrumental role in all areas as the top assistant on Lori Fish’s staff, Hartmann has earned a reputation as one of the very best in her field while directing SCSU to nine winning seasons, a .634 winning percentage, two conference titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances in her 12 seasons on the bench. No assistant coach in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) holds more experience in the league than Hartmann. Throughout her 21-year coaching career she has guided her teams to an NSIC Tournament Championship, a North Division Championship, four NSIC Tournament Finals, one NCAA Sweet 16 berth and six NCAA Tournament appearances.

Hartmann has recruited and coached three All-Americans, one Region Player of the Year, one Conference Player of the Year, five Conference Defensive Players of the Year, one Conference Freshman of the Year, 38 All-Conference selections, nine Conference All-Defensive Team members and three Conference All-Freshman Team selections.

In addition to her work with student-athletes on the court, Hartmann’s role extends to the classroom as an academic mentor to the program. Across her career six players have earned Academic All-District honors while 123 have gained Academic All-Conference accolades.

Hartmann-coached teams have recorded winning records in 17 of her 21 seasons on the bench, going a combined 346-236 (.594) with a 236-169 (.582) mark in conference play. Since returning to her alma mater in 2013, St. Cloud State has gone 201-125 (.616) with a 153-99 (.6057) NSIC record. Four of her teams have turned in 20-win seasons while earning top-half conference and division finishes in all but one of her past 14 campaigns.

A standout two time All-North Central Conference guard during her playing days at SCSU, Hartmann’s work with the St. Cloud State backcourt has been nothing short of phenomenal. The Huskies have enjoyed stellar guard play across her tenure, building a reputation of high-IQ unselfish play alongside strong perimeter shooting. 2020-21 saw Tori Wortz became the program’s first backcourt player to earn All-American honors since Jan Niehaus did so in 1989-90 with Wortz going on to add her second straight All-American nod a year later. Betsy MacDonald became the program’s all-time leader in career three pointers made, playing all four years under Hartmann. Perhaps most impressively, SCSU has had great success in quickly developing underclassmen guards into key starters and rotation players. Wortz and Jada Eggebrecht each started as true freshmen in 2017-18 and 2022-23 respectively with the latter becoming the program’s first freshman to earn Second Team All-NSIC honors; Chelsea Nooker, Betsy MacDonald, Andrea Thomas, Madelin Dammann and Brehna Evans all saw significant time as freshmen before becoming starters as sophomores and going on to earn All-Conference accolades.

SCSU forwards have enjoyed great success with Hartmann as Jessica Benson, Nikki Kilboten and Katrina Theis earned All-NSIC honors; Benson, Theis and Karissa LeCaptain each led their respective teams in scoring as seniors and Kilboten earned NSIC All-Defensive Team honors under her watch. Kilboten led the NSIC in blocks as a sophomore and ranked top-five in the league in blocks over her five years as a starter. The Huskies have ranked top-four in rebounding defense across the NSIC in each of the past six seasons while leading the conference with just 30.7 opponent boards allowed in 2020-21, speaking volumes to the position group’s emphasis on fundamentals and closing out possessions.

The Huskies’ defense has become one of the top units in the country during Hartmann’s time on staff, consistently ranking among the NCAA leaders in scoring defense. Over the past five seasons, St. Cloud State has led the NSIC in scoring defense three times while ranking top-three in scoring defense each of those five years. SCSU has held opponents to shoot below 39% in five straight seasons dating back to 2018-19 and has recorded a ridiculous 88.8 defensive rating during that span. Brehna Evans earned back-to-back NSIC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2020-21 and 2021-22 while she, Nikki Kilboten and Chelsea Nooker earned All-Defensive Team recognition under Hartmann.

Hartmann returned to St. Cloud State as Lori Fish’s lead assistant ahead of the 2013-14 season.

Earning her first top assistant role at Minnesota Duluth in 2008, Hartmann spent five seasons as the lead assistant on the Bulldogs bench and helped UMD earn two NCAA Tournament appearances as the team went 83-58 (.589) with a 65-41 (.613) mark in NSIC play. UMD recorded winning seasons in each of her five campaigns with one 20-win season and appeared in the 2010 NSIC Tournament Final. Hartmann helped All-American forward Jheri Booker earn back-to-back NSIC Defensive Player of the Year honors while adding Central Region and NSIC Player of the Year accolades in 2009-10. Katrina Newman was named the 2010-11 NSIC Freshman of the Year before Shelly Stemper made it four straight seasons with a Bulldog earning a major conference award under Hartmann with Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2011-12.

Minnesota Duluth’s defense flourished with Hartmann on staff as five Bulldogs were named to the NSIC All-Defensive Team while the unit recorded an impressive 89.2 defensive rating, forced turnovers on 23.0% of opponent possessions at 18.8 a game, piled up 10.0 steals a contest, held opponents to 65.9 points per game and posted a 39.4% field goal percentage defense.

Hartmann began her collegiate coaching career in 2004-05 as the graduate assistant coach under Lori Fish at Minnesota State-Mankato, going on to spend four seasons with Fish and the Mavericks. She helped orchestrate an impressive turnaround in Mankato as MSU went from 11-16 in her first season on staff to a 23-9 record in 2007-08. The Mavericks improved their win total in each of her four years on the bench, culminating in a Sweet 16 appearance at the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Minnesota State’s offense averaged nearly 81 points per game in 2007-08, landing third across the country in scoring. Four Mavericks earned All-NCC honors under Hartmann.

A two-year captain at St. Cloud State, Hartmann’s Huskies legacy began during her five-year career with the program as she starred in the backcourt from 1999-00 to 2003-04 and earned All-North Central Conference honors as a junior and redshirt senior. Playing under Dr. Lori Ulferts with Lori Fish serving as the top assistant, she appeared in 114 games as SCSU went 78-61 (.561) during her playing career. The Huskies made one NCAA Tournament – advancing to the Round of 32 in 2001 at the Grand Forks Regional – and earned three NCC Tournament berths as Hartmann (Abrahams) closed her career with 1,060 points and graduated third in program history with 124 made threes. Well-known for her perimeter shooting and defense, Hartmann shot 35.5% from beyond the arc throughout her career and averaged nearly a steal and a half per game while graduating No. 12 all-time with 151 steals.

A native of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Hartmann was a 1999 graduate of Detroit Lakes High School and was inducted into the Laker Hall of Honor in 2012. Just the second DLHS girl’s basketball player to eclipse 1,000 career points, she was twice named Honorable Mention All-State while adding three Mid-State All-Conference honors and earning Mid-State Conference Player of the Year accolades as a senior. Hartmann also starred in volleyball and track & field, earning all-conference honors in both sports while twice being named conference MVP in volleyball.

Hartmann earned her undergraduate degree in Physical Education and Health from St. Cloud State in 2004 and completed her master’s degree in Physical Education and Health Education at Minnesota State-Mankato in 2007.