EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Sam Schaeffer begins her first season with UW-Eau Claire women's basketball as an assistant coach in 2026-27.

Schaeffer joins the Blugolds after serving as an assistant coach at Edgewood University during the 2025-26 season. She helped the Eagles finish with a 12-14 overall record and an 11-7 mark in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play.

Before beginning her coaching career, Schaeffer enjoyed a decorated five-year playing career at UW-Stout, where she was a key member of the Blue Devils under current UW-Eau Claire head coach Hannah Iverson. During her time at UW-Stout, Schaeffer helped the Blue Devils reach the NCAA Final Four in 2025 and the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 2024. The Blue Devils also won the WIAC Tournament in 2024 and captured the regular-season WIAC championship in 2023.

Individually, Schaeffer earned the All-WIAC Sportsmanship Award and was selected to the All-WIAC Defensive Team. She also ranked sixth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio and earned College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honors.

A DeForest High School graduate, Schaeffer was a four-year varsity member of the Norskies basketball team. She served as a team captain in 2020, earned honorable mention all-conference honors in 2019 and 2020 and helped DeForest win regional championships in 2019 and 2020.

Schaeffer also brings experience from the AAU and youth levels. She coached with Wisconsin Elite from 2021-23 and has worked with multiple youth camps at UW-Stout and DeForest. In 2025, Schaeffer was selected to participate in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) "So You Want To Be A Coach" program, which provides aspiring coaches with professional development and networking opportunities.

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