The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OCTOBER 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 61 ❱ WHERE ARE THEY NOW? impactful on this year's team by joining the staff. "I always wanted to come back to Michigan, [but] I didn't imagine it hap- pening this soon. But once she asked and once I actually, really thought about it, it was a no-brainer." Rauch decided in high school that coaching might be something she was interested in whenever her playing career was over, and the kinesiology major did what she could to set herself up for that at U-M. "Everybody always told me you could be a coach someday," Rauch said. "I didn't know that I wanted to do that. But I loved that leadership aspect of it. And then I also just loved everything that came with me becoming a Division I athlete. The nutrition aspect of it, the strength and conditioning portion of that, the working out that I always did in the training for basketball. "There was no coaching major that I could have stepped right into. So, I stepped into exercise science, be- cause that was kind of the supple- mentary stuff to what it takes to be a high-level athlete. From there, I said that I liked the coaching part of it more than the other behind-the- scenes stuff. I wanted to be in it. "Seeing what our coaches did and learning from them, I was always such a student of the game. My mind takes me to these places already and I tick the way that the coaches do, and I wanted to know what they're think- ing and how they see things. That just really aligns with what I was passion- ate about." After she graduated from U-M, Rauch went to Clemson and spent her first year there as a graduate as- sistant. But after one year on the job, she elected to use her COVID season and give it one last go as a player dur- ing the 2023-24 season. "That was a unique experience be- cause I was totally done," Rauch said. "I was ready to get into coaching. I knew what I was passionate about and what I wanted to do, but then I didn't realize how much I was going to miss basketball. It's different when you're on the other side of it, when you have no control anymore. And so, for me, I really, really missed the playing aspect of it and being able to be out there and have an impact on the outcome, instead of just being able to try to tell people, this is what you have to do and this is what it's supposed to look like. "I guess I didn't realize how much I was going to miss it. … Being able to go back and play, I had a different lens. I had a coach's mind and was able to think about the game differently, but I would say that it was difficult physically to have a year off and try to come back. I practiced against the team [as a member of ] the scout team when I was a grad assistant, but it was a bit harder for me to get my- self back into the peak shape that I was at when I graduated. That's for sure." Her one season at Western Caro- lina was a positive experience, but now that she is back at U-M, it is all she ever could have asked for. "It means the world to me," Rauch said. "I'm from upstate New York, I'm not even from the Mid- west, but I wanted to live in Michi- gan. This is where I want to be. This is where I want to hopefully one day raise a family. So, for me to be back here and have the opportunity to be in the position that I am and be 25 years old and be a Power Four assistant coach at the greatest uni- versity in the world, I couldn't have dreamed it up any better. "The most exciting part is being back at the place that I love with the plan of staying here for a really long time. That stability and that consistency within our program is going to be huge for the trajectory of our future and elevating Michi- gan women's basketball back up to that Elite Eight and Final Four level. Hopefully, one day be national champions in Ann Arbor." ❏ Rauch, a former team captain, is thrilled to be back in Ann Arbor as part of Kim Barnes Arico's coaching staff this season. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY ❱ The Danielle Rauch File Michigan Accomplishments: U-M letterwinner (2019-22) ... Started all 32 games her senior season (5.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists) as part of program-best Elite Eight appearance… Three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. Professional Accomplishments: Grad assistant at Clemson (2022-23) ... assistant coach at Western Carolina (2024-25). Family: Len and Joanne Rauch (parents), Jack (brother). They Said It: "To be able to bring somebody like Danielle back with her enthusiasm, passion and love for the game, as well as her love for Michigan, will be invaluable to the future of our program. It will be great for our young kids to connect with someone who is one of the win - ningest players to put on a Michigan uniform. She helped lead us to a Sweet 16 and an Elite Eight — places where this team wants to go. And it wasn't easy for her. "Danielle is just a great example of perseverance and determination, someone who never quit at anything. She bleeds maize and blue and would do anything for our program. I think she is one of the best up-and-comers in the business." — Kim Barnes Arico