Alex Antonen was named the women's basketball director of operations on June 6, 2016. Antonen enters his seventh year on staff in 2022-23.
In his six seasons at South Dakota, the Coyotes compiled a 135-27 record, qualified for four NCAA Tournaments (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022), won three Summit League regulars season titles (2018, 2020, 2022) and captured three Summit League Tournament Championships (2020, 2021, 2022).
The Coyotes made noise on the big stage during the 2022 NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Sweet 16 as a No. 10 seed. The postseason run included a 75-61 win over a receiving votes Ole Miss squad, followed by a 61-47 takedown of No. 7/5 Baylor in the second round. It was the biggest win in program history and a Summit League squad’s first win over a top-10 nationally ranked team since 1994. South Dakota fell to No. 12/12 Michigan, 52-49, in the Sweet 16.
On the national stage, the Coyotes have made a name for themselves as a premier mid-major program. Twice in his final three seasons, USD finished the season No. 1 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll. The 2019-20 Coyotes finished No. 17/11 in the final Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls. USD’s No. 11 ranking is the highest national ranking bestowed upon a Summit team. The Coyotes set Summit League records during the season for weeks in both polls with 16 weeks in the coaches’ poll and 12 weeks in the AP poll. USD also completed the 2021-22 season at No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
South Dakota has stamped its name all across the Summit’s record book in Plitzuweit’s tutelage. In the 30 years of the Summit League’s history, only four teams have ever run the table during the regular season. Two of those four teams were the Coyotes – in 2018 and 2020. The 2020 squad routed league opponents by an average of 32 points per game, becoming the first and only program to go undefeated in the Summit regular season and win the Summit League Tournament. Other Summit records include the most consecutive overall wins (20, 2017-18), most consecutive league wins (24, 2019-21), most consecutive home league wins (40, 2017-2022), highest overall winning percentage (.938, 2019-20), fewest losses (2, 2019-20).
With Antonen on the bench, South Dakota women’s basketball recorded its first-ever wins against AP Top 25 teams. South Dakota topped No. 23/22 Iowa State 64-59 at home and followed that up with a 74-61 road win at No. 22/24 Missouri during the 2018-19 season. South Dakota became ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today Division I Coaches Poll for the first time in program history on Feb. 11, 2019. The team remained ranked for two weeks in the AP Top 25 and five weeks in the coaches’ poll. The Coyotes’ biggest win was over No. 7/5 Baylor in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Antonen joined the Coyote staff after spending three seasons in the same role at Green Bay. Antonen’s duties included planning team travel, assisting with on-campus recruiting visits, supervising student managers, planning and organizing summer camps, coordinating opponent film exchange and breaking down opponent game film.
A 2013 graduate of the University of Minnesota, Antonen spent four seasons as a student manager for the Gophers women’s basketball team. He gained Division I experience aiding the coaching staff in running practices, scouting opponents and breaking down game film.
Antonen also worked as a WNBA intern with the Minnesota Lynx for two seasons and spent three summers working as a women’s basketball camp counselor for North Dakota State.
