FULLERTON, Calif. - Former Western Carolina head coach Karen Middleton has been added to the Cal State Fullerton women's basketball program, as the associate head coach for the 2015-16 season, head coach Daron Park announced Monday.

"I am thrilled to welcome Karen to our women's basketball program," Park said. "Coach Middleton brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our program and her impact will be felt immediately."

Middleton spent six seasons at the helm of the Western Carolina women's basketball program, leading the Catamounts to a semi-final appearance in the Southern Conference Tournament in 2014.

"I am very excited about the opportunity to coach at Cal State Fullerton," Middleton said. "I've known Daron for a long time and he's a winner. Fullerton is a program where we can do some really big things because I know there is a lot of support throughout the athletic program from top to bottom."

Prior to her stint at Western Carolina, Middleton was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Eastern Washington University (1994-97), was an assistant coach at the University of South Carolina (1992-94), spent two years as an assistant at the University of Illinois (2007-2009), and was an assistant coach at Stanford University for ten years (1997-2007).

The 1991 South Carolina graduate started her coaching career at her alma mater, as a volunteer assistant (1991-92) before earning an assistant coach position from 1992-94.

"Karen's resume and experience in coaching is impressive but who she is as a person and what she will be as a mentor for our student-athletes is what really makes her a great asset to the program," Park said. "I have known Karen for years and coached against her teams many times and they were always well prepared, played incredibly hard and represented their respective universities in a first class manner. She is a great fit for what we are here at Fullerton and I can't wait for the campus community to meet her."

Prior to coaching, Middleton had a four-year playing career with the Gamecocks where she was named team captain, team MVP, and a two-time All-Metro Conference selection.  Middleton finished her playing career as the fifth-leading scorer in school history (1,714 points) and still holds records for career 3FG made (317), career 3FG percentage (.445), 3FG made in a season (115) and season 3FG percentage (.469).

The Monroe, North Carolina native graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education in 1991 from South Carolina and also earned an Interdisciplinary Master of Arts in Physical Education in 1993.