Pratt CC

The 2024-2025 School year will be Karen Baker’s 3rd year at Pratt Community College as a full-time instructor and her 2nd season as the assistant coach of the Beavers’ volleyball program. 

With a M.S. in Movement Science with a focus in Sport Psychology, Coach Baker brings knowledge in the area of biomechanics, sports management, and sports psychology to help create an environment conducive to players’ success physically and mentally.  Coach Baker has an extensive history of successful coaching stints including a 2-year run as the head volleyball coach at Oakland City University for the 2009 and 2010 seasons taking the team to the NCCAA national tournament in her first season. She also had a 7-year career as head girls’ and head boys’ volleyball coach at Spanish River High School in Boca Raton, FL. During this tenure, both teams attended post-season competition numerous times and Coach Baker sent many players on to collegiate volleyball at all levels including DI institutions like West Virginia, Wofford, Princeton, and Florida International University to name a few.  Coach Baker was also previously a student assistant coach at Southwestern College in Winfield, KS; a volunteer assistant coach at Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL; and a paid assistant coach at Garden City Community College in Garden City, KS.  In addition to former high school and collegiate coaching experience, Coach Baker has not only coached but owned/directed numerous club volleyball programs for boys and girls in Kansas and in Florida.  Coach Baker also spent many summers running summer camps for indoor volleyball and beach volleyball during her years in Florida. Coach Baker has consistently been a member of AVCA, attended multiple national AVCA conferences, Certified though CAPII with the USVA, and attended/worked numerous coaching workshops/clinics. 

As an athlete, Coach Baker played one year at Garden City Community College getting All-Jayhawk Conference honorable mention as well as All-NJCAA Academic Honors.  The rest of her collegiate competition took place at Southwestern College in Winfield, KS., where Coach Baker was awarded Most-Inspirational Player two years in a row as well as All-KCAC and All NAIA Academic honors.   

Coach Baker is originally from Holcomb, KS and resides in Pratt with her husband Wes Baker, a corrosion specialist with Energy Transfer, and her two step-children James and Jade.