Rowing
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- kkraiss@ia.ua.edu
- Phone:
- 205-348-3600
With coaching experience from both Rutgers and USA Rowing, Kelly Kraiss was hired at the University of Alabama in the summer of 2022 as the team’s assistant coach.
Kraiss arrived in Tuscaloosa following a successful 2022 season as an assistant coach at Rutgers, helping guide the Scarlet Knights’ Second Novice 8+ crew to a Big 10 Championship, the first conference title in any event in school history.
Kraiss, a former collegiate rower at Tennessee, earned a Ph.D. in education from Tennessee (1999-2003), where she was named a CRCA National Scholar Athlete and a three-time Academic All-SEC honoree. Kraiss helped lead the Volunteers to its first-ever national ranking and an NCAA Championships invitation in 2003.
Before her time at Rutgers, Kraiss served as the head coach for high school girls at Orlando Area Rowing Society (OARS) in Florida, which consistently produced NCAA Division I talent and invitations to the USA Rowing Olympic Development Program during her tenure.
Kraiss also holds a wealth of experience from USA Rowing, having served as the head coach of the Southeast Olympic Development Program in 2021 after an assistant coaching role in 2019. Kraiss was responsible for recruitment and selection of the Southeast camp roster, along with day-to-day operations for a program that developed the top under-17 and under-18 athletes in that region of the country.
Kraiss has certifications at USA Rowing Level 2 and is an AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in early childhood education from Tennessee and a Master of Arts in exceptional education from Central Florida.
