BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU women's basketball head coach Greg Collins has added two new members to his coaching staff ahead of the 2026-27 season. Jon Plefka and C'eira Ricketts have been hired as assistant coaches with the program.
"Jon has a great positive energy every time you talk to him," said Collins. "He is enthusiastic and ready to help our players and improve the team. Jon's relationships with coaches and recruits stretch from the South to the Northeast. The wealth of knowledge and experience he brings, along with his willingness to roll up his sleeves and go to work, will help us to get back to winning at a high level."
Plefka comes to WKU after serving as head coach at UMass Lowell for the 2025-26 season. Prior to UMass Lowell, he was an assistant coach at Stony Brook for the 2024-25 season and a head coach at the Division II level for seven seasons.
At Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) in 2023-24, he led the Warhawks to their first home Gulf South Conference (GSC) postseason game and GSC semifinal appearance in program history after finishing the year with a program-best 20-10 (17-7 GSC) record. Also, that season, he guided the program to its first-ever NCAA Division II South Regional Ranking and helped Allasha Dudley become AUM's first player to be named to the All-GSC First Team. Prior to AUM, Plefka was the head coach at Post University. There he led the team to a 2023 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) championship game appearance and three North Division Regular Season Championships. At Post, a program that had one winning season in the previous 15 years to his arrival, he went 84-55 overall and 69-33 in league play. He served as assistant coach at Post before being named head coach in 2017-18.
The New Britain, Connecticut native played basketball collegiately at Texas Tech for legendary coach Bob Knight. He graduated cum laude in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in human development and family studies.
"I've had the good fortune to recruit and develop a lot of great players," said Collins. "C'eira is one of the very best. She is committed, trustworthy, and a hard-working team player. C'eira will be a great role model for our players on and off the court. We have some young players and young recruits that aspire to achieve the player success that C'eira did. Our players will know that Ceira has worked through those challenges and earned those opportunities."
Ricketts is a 2015 graduate of Arkansas, where she played basketball from 2009-12. The Louisville, Kentucky native was recruited to Arkansas by current WKU head coach Greg Collins who was serving as assistant coach at Arkansas at the time. Ricketts ended her career at Arkansas as one of the best players in program history. She holds the record for most steals (321) by a Razorback and is fourth in assists (516), eighth in points (1,557) and 12th in rebounds (644). She was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Year and AP SEC Freshman of the Year in 2009. She was All-SEC first team in 2012 and second team in 2009 and 2011.
After Arkansas, Ricketts was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA Draft. She also played for the Flying Foxes of Vienna, Austria, earning league MVP and player of the year honors in 2013.
Following her playing career, she returned to Arkansas as an intern with the women's basketball team while she completed her degree. In 2017, she was named the Director of Student-Athlete Development at Arkansas.
Additionally, Collins has added two new Graduate Assistants, Mason Thornhill and Jamia Gatlin, to his staff.
How to Follow the Lady Toppers: For complete information on Lady Topper Hoops, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @LadyTopperHoops on X, @LadyTopperHoops on Instagram, @WKU.WBB on TikTok and on Facebook at facebook.com/WKUWomensBasketball.
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