Courtesy of Puma Athletics
(Tucson, AZ)
Pima Community College women’s basketball assistant coach Chris Klassen has accepted a new coaching position and will head to the four-year university level.
Klassen will be the new women’s basketball assistant coach at Knox College, an NCAA Division III school in Galesburg, IL.
He was an assistant coach for Todd Holthaus from 2012-2018. He helped the Aztecs to a third place finish at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament in 2016, won an NJCAA Region I, Division II title in 2016 and was on staff as the Aztecs appeared in the Region I, Division II championship game in each season. Klassen was also an assistant for the men’s basketball team from 2011-12.
“A good friend of mine David Elliot, who coaches at Cornell University asked if I was interestedin the job. They flew me out and I interviewed for two days. Coach (Emily) Cline offered me the job just as I got on the plane and my wife and I talked about it.
“Opportunities like this don’t come very often and it’s a great fit for me and my family,” Klassensaid. “It was an amazing experience, facilities are amazing and they’re on the rise.”
The Prairie Fire finished 16-9 last season.
“Working with Todd (Holthaus) has been a godsend. He saw something in me and has been an incredible mentor and we’ve become amazing friends; he’s my family,” Klassen said. “I learned so much from him, he has so many life experiences that he shared with me. I am the coach and person I am because of him. He guided me down better paths. He couldn’t be more excited for me. Big smiles all around.”
Click on our sponsor’s logo for more information
Klassen said that he’s known coach Jim Rosborough since the third grade and being able to coach with him came “full circle.”
“He took me under his wing. I worked with him coaching the Lute Olson camps and he helped me get a scholarship to go to college. I went from being a young kid in awe of him, to games and camps and then to coach with him. It’s an incredible thing.”
Klassen graduated from Palo Verde High School and played at William Penn University, an NAIA school in Oskaloosa, Iowa where he earned a basketball scholarship and was a three-year starter. He currently ranks in the individual top 10 in William Penn history in steals, three-pointers made and three-point percentage.
He was the head coach at Palo Verde from 2009-2011 where he went 41-20. In 2010, his team went 24-7 with a state final four appearance.
Klassen and his wife, Katie, started the Tucson Rattlers travel teams. They started with eight girls and one team 10 years ago and now they have over 60 girls and six teams. They have sent 42 girls away with scholarships since 2011.
Please click on our sponsors logo
“The ultimate goal was to get their college paid for and start them on a great path for life,” he said. “I’ll still do the administration work minus the coaching. It’s exciting because Todd (Holthaus) is going to coach the 17U Black Team. All the other coaches are still in place and that was important to me.”
Holthaus is excited that Klassen gets to take the next step in his coaching career.
“I couldn’t be happier or more proud of Chris. He has put in his time and been a great asset for Pima Women’s Basketball,” Holthaus said. “He is ready for this next challenge and will do a great job for Knox College and Coach Cline. Although we will miss him, I’m glad he gets to pursue his coaching passion on a full-time basis.”
Klassen was also appreciative of Edgar Soto and all the players he got to coach at Pima.
“I loved coaching all the girls at Pima. They all have a piece of me earning this opportunity.”
