Assistant coach Joelle Kissell joined the Wichita State women's tennis staff in August, 2022.
In her second season in 2023-24, Kissell helped the Shockers to a national ranking as high as No. 55 and helped guide the Shockers to wins over two ranked opponents, as well as assisting in the Shockers sweeping of 10-seed Tulsa in the opening round of the 2024 AAC Championship.
The former NC State standout brings five years of collegiate coaching experience, most recently at West Virginia where she spent the 2021-22 season as the Mountaineers’ volunteer assistant.
“We are excited to welcome Joelle to our program,” Foster said in a press release announcing the hire. “It was clear during the search process that her and my values align. Joelle is passionate about developing leaders and champions – on an off the court -- and preparing student-athletes for life after graduation. She was a very accomplished collegiate and professional athlete and will be able to share those experiences with our players. She has also coached at several different levels in and out of college tennis and made a positive impact at each stop.”
Before arriving at West Virginia, Kissell worked three seasons (2018-21) as the assistant coach at Seton Hill University, an NCAA Division II school in Greensburg, Pa., and another as volunteer assistant at Western Carolina (2014-15).
Prior to that, Kissell played professionally, climbing as high as No. 790 in the WTA rankings.
In her four-year career at NC State, Kissell racked up a then school-record 107 combined singles and doubles dual victories. She was the first three-time All-ACC selection in Wolfpack history and a two-time NCAA singles qualifier, advancing to the Round of 32 as a sophomore.
Kissell also excelled in the classroom, garnering academic all-conference honors in each of her last three seasons. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Communication from NC State in 2014.
The Hostetter, Pa. native was a five-star recruit out of high school (per TennisRecruiting.net), ranking 46th nationally. She won Pennsylvania’s AAA state singles title as a senior and a state doubles crown as a freshman.
