Coaches
Lindsey Blaine - MIHS Head Coach
As a high performing collegiate athlete with deep background in multiple sports, Lindsey is an invaluable role model and development resource for the Lady Islander student athletes. In high school, she was a four-year varsity letter winner in track and field, basketball and volleyball, earning 3x MVP honors in basketball and volleyball and earning a State Championship in the javelin throw.
She attended Purdue University on a track and field scholarship to throw the javelin where she won the 2007 National Championship and Big Ten Championship while earning a spot on the USA Track & Field team. She also made the Big 10 All-Academic Team 4 years in a row. After getting her bachelor’s degree in Movement and Sports Science from Purdue, she competed with Nike for two years placing 8th at the 2008 Olympic Trials.
For the last 10 years, Coach Lindsey has been working as a Performance Coach, as well as a stint as a Volunteer Assistant Throws Coach at the University of Washington. Having never lost her love for basketball, she also spent her time continuing to play, watch, and coach the sport at various levels. Prior to accepting the Head Coaching position at Mercer Island High School she spent the previous 4 seasons as the Head Varsity Assistant and Junior Varsity coach at Inglemoor High School.
She is excited to bring her passion for the game, competiveness and athletic experience to the Islander program and help the athletes grow as strong female role models on the court, in the classroom, and in life.
Elyse Creelman - MIHS JV Head Coach
Elyse Creelman is currently a Strength and Conditioning Specialist for PRO Club in Seattle. She has worked with youth and collegiate athletes since 2012 with an emphasis on injury prevention. In High School, Elyse was a three sport athlete earning a Varsity letter in Volleyball, Basketball, and Track and Field her last three years. Her main focus is coaching an athlete who is multifaceted. She believes sport can be a tool to teach more about leadership, dedication, and personal growth.
Elyse graduated from Seattle Pacific University in 2012 earning a Bachelor’s of Science in Exercise Science. She then obtained her credentials as a Certified Strength and Condition Specialist (CSCS). She has worked with athletes from various sports in the Bothell/Woodinville area training speed and agility. She trained Inglemoor, Woodinville, and Bothell basketball players in pre-season conditioning and injury prevention.
This is her first year working with the Mercer Island Basketball program. She has previously been an Assistant Girls Basketball Coached at Shoreline Christian School for three years where they finished 6th in State. She is excited to invest in this program and build up the future Varsity athletes.
Carter Chinn - MIHS Program Assistant Coach
Carter is entering his 8th year of coaching for MIGB. He is a class of 88' graduate of Seattle's Cleveland High School where he played under the late Calvin Johnson. An interesting note of this time was that Carter, although just under 5'8", could indeed actually dunk a basketball! He was also the Metro League's second leading scorer early in his senior year averaging 17.3 ppg.
During his coaching tenure at MIHS, Carter has been a part of four different staffs while playing an integral role in preparing our student-athletes for competition. Other than being in the gym assisting our girls Coach Carter has spent countless hours studying film, stats and making road trips in preparation of scouting reports. He feels very fortunate and blessed to have been a part of six straight district playoff teams, five regional playoff games for State, three State qualifiers and MIGB's first ever State Championship in 2017. The positive relationships built over these years through thick and thin continue to keep Carter passionate about these student-athletes, their continued growth as young ladies and their strive to be the best self-empowered version of themselves!
Under the direction of Head Coach Lindsey Blaine’s first season at the helm and in collaboration with Coach Creelman, Coach Brillaud, Coach Marolf and Coach Kelly John-Lewis, Coach Carter is excited for the challenges ahead that will continue to shape our team culture, identity, improvement and expectations of success going into this season.
Katie Warner - MIHS Program Assistant Coach
In her first year as assistant coach with MIGB. Graduate of Burlington-Edison High School, earning Skagit Valley Herald Athlete of the Year honors as a three-sport athlete including soccer, basketball, and fastpitch. Competed for Western Washington Vikings Soccer from 2005 to 2008 and earned first-team All-American honors as a defender in 2008. Attended training camps for the Mexican National Team in 2008 and played on the Seattle Sounders team from 2009 to 2011. When she's not in the gym, Katie is working on her animation and graphic design portfolio or mixing it up with a local improv theater.
Tom Choi - MIHS Program Assistant Coach
In his second year with MIGB. Grew up in Vancouver, BC, and played at Guildford Park High School. Captain of the basketball team as a junior and senior, also earning honors of Guildford Park High School Player of the Year in 2003. Recruited and played at Yonsei University in Seoul. Served as a liaison for the Canadian Women's National Team during the 2015 University Games in Gwangju, Korea. Fun fact: you may or may not have seen Tom at the Kraken Home Opener or in other local magazines as he's been working in the fashion industry as a model for the last 4 years.
8th Grade Coach - Russell Stell
In the past year I’ve coached 7th grade boys feeder program for Mercer island island as well as 4th grade boys ESE and 8th and 9th grade girls ESE teams. Volunteer 7th and 8th grade boys coach for rotary club Seattle from 2020-2021 Basketball has been my whole life. All league seamount team selection in 2000-2001. Basketball has been my whole life coaching and youth development has always been a passion of mine.
7th Grade Coach - Hannah Lilly Franklin
Four-year starter at Mercer Island High School where she played for Jamie Prescott ... Averaged 14.0 points and 3.0 assists per game as a senior in helping her squad to a KingCo league title and a sixth-place finish in the state's 3A Tournament ... The Islanders finished with a 22-7 won-lost mark her final campaign ... Served as team captain her junior and senior seasons ... First-team all-league pick her senior season ... Member of the All-KingCo All Star Team ... Miseed the majority of her junior season with a knee injury ... Captured Second-Team all-league acclaim as a sophomore after averaging 13.0 points amd 2.0 assists per outing ... Also played on the volleyball team for a couple of years.
In college, Hannah capped off a memorable four-run in the Emory Eagles' program three by playing in 94 contests and drawing 85 starting assignments ... Finished among the program's all-time top 10 in 13 categories ... Registered 221 three-point field goals, good for the No. 2 spot on the Emory career chart and her 37.8 percent showing (221-of-585) tied for second ... 4th on the Eagles' all-time list with 1,302 points and her 13.9 per-game scoring average is good for the No. 3 position ... 489 field goals places her sixth all-time and she ranks seventh in steals (146) and 10th in assists (203) ... Successful on 76.3 percent (103-of-135) of her free throw attempts, fifth all-time in program annals ... 85 starts are eighth most and she averaged 27.6 minutes per playing stint, good for the No. 6 position on the Eagles' all-time ladder ... Totaled 70 outings of double-figure point production ... 64 performances of two or more three-point field goals.
6th Grade Coach - Erin McCaslin
Erin McCaslin is currently the Manager of Social Responsibility for the Seattle Storm and has been coaching girls youth basketball over the past five years. She has coached and trained girls ranging from fifth grade through high school varsity.
Erin graduated from Tahoma High School in 2010 as a three-year varsity letter winner in basketball and went on to play four years of college basketball at Roosevelt University in Chicago. Her team finished first in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference and won the conference tournament in 2013. She finished her career as the program’s all-time leader in three-pointers made (305) and scored over 1,000 career points.
Erin has coached with Mercer Island Girls Basketball for the last two years, helping to build the youth program on the Island. Prior to coaching for Mercer Island, she spent three years coaching with Tahoma Basketball Association and as a volunteer coach at Tahoma High School. Erin teaches her players the life lessons she has gained from basketball including mental toughness, leadership, building relationships and dealing with adversity.
5th Grade Coach - Tony Locasio
Tony relocated to Bainbridge Island, WA from Boise, Idaho in 2013. On Bainbridge, he coached basketball for Bainbridge Roots and Bainbridge High School.
Tony is currently the Athletic Coordinator at Mercer Island Boys and Girls Club (PEAK).