WILKES-BARRE, PA (October 1, 2025) – The King's College women's basketball team, along with the entire athletics community, will enter the 2025-26 season with heavy hearts following the passing of former Head Women's Basketball Coach, Brian Donoghue. Donoghue, who served as the head coach of the Monarchs from 2005 to 2016, passed away on Sunday, September 21 after a 12-year journey with brain cancer.
 
"I'm deeply saddened by the passing of my friend Brian Donoghue," wrote King's Executive Director of Athletics and Recreation, Andy Orlowski. "Every conversation with Brian was a masterclass in basketball, coaching wisdom, and laughter. He had a way of weaving strategy, scouting reports, and stories from the sidelines into every exchange, always with a deep belly laugh."
 
Donoghue's successor, current women's basketball head coach Caitlin Hadzimichalis, spoke to his kindness and welcoming nature when she arrived at King's:
On my very first day on campus, Brian took me to lunch. As I went to pay, he told me you don't need to do that. Even as a broke 22-year-old, I was stubborn and insisted I could pay for my own meal. Brian's words were 'When you're a head coach, you take care of the next one'. He knew I could be a head coach before I did. He instilled confidence in me like few have in my life.
 
A 1994 graduate of Drexel University, Donoghue began his coaching career as the head coach of the women's basketball program at Penn State Delaware County while simultaneously working as a civil engineer. After seven years of juggling professions, his passion for basketball ultimately drove him to pursue coaching as a full-time career.
 
After a three-year stint as an assistant coach at East Stroudsburg University, Donoghue accepted the head coach position at King's College in 2005. Throughout his 11-year career at King's, he collected 163 wins. In 2012, Donoghue led the Monarchs to an NCAA Division III national tournament berth, where the team advanced to the Sweet 16.
 
During his time at the helm, Donoghue coached 66 MAC All-Academic honorees, 19 All-MAC/Freedom players and one MAC Freedom Co-Rookie of the Year. He also saw eight 1,000 point scorers and an NCAA Division III All-American go through the program.
 
Off the court, Donoghue was deeply involved in the King's community. From front-desk staffers to the scorer's table crew, equipment managers, cafeteria workers and everyone in between, Coach Donoghue formed deep relationships with people across campus.
 
Family was everything to Donoghue, who often had his wife and children around the teams he coached. "His family, his teams, his people, were always in his heart and in his mind," added Hadzimichalis. "Brian gave me a second family in his, and a third in King's College Women's Basketball."
 
Orlowski echoed this sentiment, stating:
As we both stepped into fatherhood, our conversations shifted. The game was still there, but now it was framed by the love we had for our families. Brian spoke about his kids with pride and joy that was impossible to miss. His eyes would light up whenever his family walked into the gym, they were his true home team, and he never missed a chance to show it.
 
Following his time in Wilkes-Barre, the South Burlington, VT native finished his career as an assistant coach at the University of Vermont and volunteered at Saint Michael's College.
 
Coach Donoghue left a lasting legacy on King's Athletics that Hadzimichalis intends to carry on. "I'm forever grateful that he took a chance on me, and I promise to do him justice in my journey to take care of the next ones."
 
Donoghue will be lovingly remembered by his "home team" consisting of his wife of 27 years, Andrea (Campbell) Donoghue; children, Patrick, Mackenzie and Liam; parents, Jack and Helen Donoghue; sisters, Traci Huddleson (Matt) and Kim Donoghue; his 'favorite mother-in-law,' Kathryn Campbell; many nieces, nephews, brothers- and sisters-in-law.
 
Memorial contributions in Brian's name may be made to the Jimmy V Foundation.

To view Donoghue's obituary, click here.