Perry works closely with post players, including junior forward Caroline Dotsey. Photo by Jada Gangazha. 

NHU-HAN BUI | ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | hbui@butler.edu 

Women’s basketball head coach Austin Parkinson still remembers when his 2019 IU Indy squad took on UT Martin in a close 57-51 loss. The referees’ decisions are a sore subject for Parkinson even six years later, but what he remembers most is the game’s leading scorer — Chelsey Perry, then a junior forward for the Skyhawks and now an assistant coach for the Bulldogs.

After a stellar collegiate career in Tennessee that included several records and accolades, Perry went on to be drafted 26th overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2021 WNBA Draft. She was the first player from UT Martin to be drafted and became the highest-selected player from the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).

Although Perry would not see much game time for the Fever due to an ACL injury, she continued her professional career in Italy and Australia before returning to Indiana in 2024 as an assistant coach for Taylor University.

Before going overseas, Perry got to know fellow Butler assistant coach Kristen Wodrich, and Parkinson credits that relationship with starting the chain of events that would lead to Perry’s hiring.

“Life sometimes is about being in the right place,” Parkinson said. “When she was hurt, she developed a relationship with Wodrich, so they got to know [each other] really well. When the position opened, she was still playing overseas and felt like she still wanted to play. As I was going through everything, I couldn’t find the right [assistant coach] and finally she called me and said, ‘I don’t know if that job’s still open, [but I’m still interested].’”

Perry’s return to Indianapolis marks her comeback to the city where she started her professional playing career, but Indy is also the city where her former staff started their own journeys.

“It’s a full-circle moment because both of the coaches [I worked with] — Cassie Wiseman and Rachel McLimore — came from Butler,” Perry said. “I learned a lot [there] and Cassie gave me my first opportunity to coach collegiately … Starting at Taylor was a great experience for me.”

Perry’s time with the Trojans taught her key aspects of coaching the game, including film review, scouting and using her voice in practices. However, the biggest lesson Perry feels she learned is how to impact the players. 

“As an assistant coach, [the job is about] how you impact the girls, whether it’s off [or on] the court,” Perry said. “The girls [do not always] want to talk about basketball or how practice or the game [went]. They want to do real life with you [as well].”

Perry joins a coaching staff who has been together since Parkinson took on the job in 2022. Assistant coaches Latrell Fleming and Holly Hoopingarner were also on his staff at IU Indy, and Hoopingarner played under Parkinson as well. 

Jumping into a close-knit group brings some challenges for Perry, but she credits the staff for their patience as she adjusts to a new environment. 

“I feel like ever since I’ve started, I’ve hit the ground running,” Perry said. “I’ve learned a lot from Coach P, and this coaching staff has been together for a long time, [so] I feel like I’m just picking up and learning. When you come from a different program, it’s just a learning curve, but they are super patient.”

In her role as assistant coach, Perry primarily works with three forwards who are post players for the Bulldogs — sophomore Gabby Wilke, junior Caroline Dotsey and senior Lilly Stoddard.

Parkinson feels that Perry’s experience playing in a similar position helps the coaches give the trio more specialized attention.

“[Perry] played in a [power forward] spot, so she’s worked really hard with all our post players,” Parkinson said. “It’s nice from a position coach standpoint [because] we’ve always been able to break up point guards and wings, [but] we’ve always had to group the centers. Now, we’re able to separate that and get a little bit more one-on-one attention and development, which is really good.”

Even though Perry has only been with the team since September, Stoddard feels that Perry’s feedback during practices has already helped her improve.

“I feel like she’s really great at telling us what we need to do, but also encouraging us and telling us the things that we do [well],” Stoddard said. “She’s really big on technique and footwork, and I feel like working out with her before and during practices has really made me a better player all around.”

Perry’s addition to an experienced coaching staff brings a new perspective to Butler, both as someone who has played the Dawgs before and as a coach coming from a different system. 

Parkinson feels that those perspectives, along with Perry’s confidence, have been beneficial to the team.

“The part I would say that has been real positive is when we’ve had discussions,” Parkinson said. “She did play against us, so she had an idea of what we do and was able to give an opponent’s perspective. Not everybody has a lot of confidence when they’re first coaching, [but] she is outstanding when it comes to [saying], ‘Hey, I’ve got [this],’ ‘I’m clear on this,’ ‘This is what I think,’ and that’s been helpful.”

A fresh pair of eyes also benefits the players, as Stoddard thinks that Perry can see the team’s high ceiling and help them reach it.

“I feel like her having a new perspective [lets her] look at us and see all of our potential,” Stoddard said. “And that’s really big, [it] can really help a player grow.”

Off the court, Perry has also found ways to bond with the team. Being younger than the other coaches allows Perry to be both a role model for the players and someone they can have fun with.

“Being close in age to the girls helps me relate to them a lot, especially [with] playing,” Perry said. “But outside of basketball as well, we can relate with TikToks. I get a lot of slack from them because [they] found [my] Tiktok and now [they] save videos. They’re really interested in my cooking videos.”

From Tennessee to Indiana, to Italy and Australia and back to Indiana, basketball has taken Perry around the world. Perry has learned countless things throughout the ups and downs of her playing and coaching career, but there is one lesson that she continues to tell her players today.

“The biggest thing I learned that I always tell the girls is how you handle adversity,” Perry said. “Not all the time your shot is going to go in [and] not all the time you’re going to make the right play, but it’s how you handle it after that. And for me, that’s been just my way of life ever since college. In the adult world, you’re going to go through adversity [and] you’re going to go through hard things, [but what matters] is how you handle it.”