When former women's basketball star Christal Caldwell graduated from West Virginia University in 2014, she never imagined she'd be back so soon. After working with the women's basketball team at LaSalle University for two years, her former head coach called in 2017 and gave her an offer she couldn't refuse.
 
Caldwell accepted Mountaineer coach Mike Carey's offer and returned to Morgantown as an assistant coach for the women's basketball team in 2017.
 
"Just to know that I could come back and work for a coach I played for and help girls do some of the same things that I had just finished doing was something that I couldn't pass up," Caldwell said.
 
A three-year player under Carey, Caldwell helped lead the Mountaineers to the 2014 Big 12 Conference title, its first regular season conference title since 1992. She was an integral part of the Mountaineer squad, collecting All-Big East Honorable Mention and All-Big 12 First Team honors in her time at WVU.
 
The Charlotte, North Carolina, native was just starting to figure things out for herself in her coaching position at LaSalle when Carey offered her a job at WVU. She was grateful for the chance to return to her alma mater and help other girls achieve the same success she did in her time as a Mountaineer.
 
"I think that the greatest part for me is to be able to build a relationship with today's players by connecting with them and helping them to get to where I've been and then even further," said Caldwell.
 
Having been a coach for one season at LaSalle, Caldwell knew what she was getting into when she accepted the job. She also had an idea of what it would be like to coach with Carey after playing for him for four seasons. Caldwell was familiar with the program she would be working for and didn't hesitate about returning to Morgantown.
 
As the first student-athlete to play under Carey and then return as an assistant coach, Caldwell has helped establish what she describes as Coach Carey's "culture" at WVU. She thinks that having coaches who are familiar with his type of play and his way of running things gives him the ability to leave more decisions up to his assistants.
 
"For him to know that people understand what's going on around here makes it easier for him to trust us with his program and to be able to work with him," said Caldwell.
 
As far as the biggest differences in being a player at WVU versus being a coach, Caldwell hasn't noticed many since her departure in 2014. Caldwell feels that she brings familiarity to the coaching staff because she is so close in age to the girls and was in their shoes just a few years ago. She has noticed a few additions to the basketball program that give today's athletes an advantage of over what she and her former teammates experienced.
 
"I thought that we had it made, but they definitely have it ten times better," Caldwell said. "They just have to worry about taking care of business in the classroom and on the court. Everything else is done."
 
In her transition from Mountaineer athlete to Mountaineer coach, Caldwell has learned that listening to the coaches is something that every player could work on, including herself. Even as a new member of the staff, she knows that she and her fellow coaches have the athletes' best interests in mind. Trusting and having patience with the staff is one of the best ways to be successful, and Caldwell is grateful to have figured this out on the court and on the sidelines at WVU.