Courtesy photo AAHS grad Kristi (Little) Kaack won plenty of Atlantic 10 honors while playing at Duquesne University.

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series on the Blair County Sports Hall of Fame’s class of 2026 honorees:

Kristi (Little) Kaack has accomplished so much on the basketball court it’s hard for people who have met her within the last few years to ever imagine she was considered a long shot to make much of an impact in the sport she’s fallen in love with.

But that mentality of always trying to outperform expectations and overcome challenges might be the biggest reason she’s set for induction into the Blair County Sports Hall of Fame.

“Anyone that knows me, knows I like to be the underdog,” Kaack said. “I’m 5-foot-4. I grew up hearing I was too small and couldn’t do it.”

Though her stature is not large, it’s rare that any moments have been too big for Kaack — who graduated from a storied Altoona girls basketball program as its leading scorer with 1,177 career points.

From there she added two Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year awards, a first-team Atlantic 10 nod as a senior and a spot in the Duquesne Hall of Fame after scoring 1,266 points and leading the A-10 in steals twice.

Following her playing career, Kaack became a successful coach at Mount Aloysius. After seven years, she left to take over the Bishop Guilfoyle Academy program after fellow Blair County Hall of Famer Mark Moschella retired and quickly rebuilt the program and won state championships in 2021, 2024 and 2025.

“I’m incredibly thankful,” Kaack said. “I’m someone who is very proud of where I played and where I came from. To be honored that way in the community I played for is really exciting for me. I am honored to be included in a group of really special athletes.”

Basketball began part of Kaack’s life before she was even born.

Her father, Todd, was part of Altoona’s 27-1 team with Doug West and Mike Iuzzolino that lost in the PIAA semifinals in 1985 in his senior year.

“Todd was a phenomenal person,” Iuzzolino said. “He was a really good basketball player but had even a higher character. He added a lot of great personality and value to our team.”

Kaack said her father, who died at 56 in 2022, always spoke about how hard that team worked and tried to instill that into her when she began playing in kindergarten.

“My dad made me the player that I was,” Kaack said. “He taught me what true work ethic was and that my size never mattered. My parents always gave me a stage to believe I could achieve anything I set my mind to, and for that I am really thankful.”

Todd and Caroline Little had three daughters — Danielle, Kristi and Katie — and Kaack began her time on the court with her older sister Dani.

“I had a sister that was two years older than me, and when she started to play in second grade I was in kindergarten, and I was at every game,” Kaack said. “They started putting me on the roster as she got a little older, so I was playing two years ahead of my age on her teams. It was in my family’s blood.”

While Kaack was learning the game, Altoona was adding to its historic girls basketball resume with state championships in 1995 and 1996 — and she was taking notice.

Those teams will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.

“I grew up watching Courtney Kaup play and Tiff Schettig,” Kaack said. “With them being point guards, they were players I wanted to emulate. I remember sitting in the bleachers watching those girls hoping I was going to be like them someday.”

Not long after sitting and watching those stars play, Kaack was one herself and led Altoona to the PIAA semifinals in 2004 and 2005 — losing narrowly to Mercyhurst Prep and Oakland Catholic — both of which went on to win state titles.

“I would use the word heartbreaking,” Kaack said. “We were so close, and I really loved that team. We were a close-knit team, and we enjoyed each other off the floor as much as we did on the floor. As hard as it was to see our season end that way, I really felt like it prepped me for what my college career was going to be like.”

Kaack was voted as the Altoona Mirror’s Player of the Year in 2005 and was an all-state selection. Her 308 career steals at Altoona set the tone for what she eventually accomplished at the collegiate level.

She followed fellow former Altoona stars Krista Thomas and Candace Futrell to Division I Duquesne after she fell in love with the school on her first official visit and accepted a scholarship on the spot that day.

Unfortunately, the transition to living in Pittsburgh and playing college basketball didn’t go smoothly thanks in part to a sickness that followed her from late in her senior year.

Fortunately, Iuzzolino, a family friend, was part of Duquesne’s coaching staff at the time.

“When we were in the state playoffs my senior year, I had mono and didn’t realize it,” Kaack said. “I relapsed in college, and it was really bad. I was out for almost half the year. I tried to come back, but my body just wasn’t ready.

“I didn’t think about quitting, but I thought about transferring. Having Mike Iuzzolino there — he was having me over for dinner so it was a feeling of home even being away — that’s what got me through it, the support I had.”

Kaack recovered and became a three-year starter at Duquesne and began to flourish as a sophomore, especially defensively.

“I always had a lot of belief and faith in her as a player,” Iuzzolino said. “It’s a credit to her that she went through that and had a successful career. I think that’s one of the biggest things about Kristi. She was able to handle adversity, move forward and stay positive with everything. That’s a big reason for her success.”

Finally healthy, Kaack started 22 of Duquesne’s 25 games as a sophomore and was third in the Atlantic 10 in steals and fifth in assists.

Following her sophomore year, she was faced with another decision as Duquesne made a coaching change and hired Suzie McConnell-Serio, who had played college basketball at Penn State and was the WNBA Coach of the Year leading the Minnesota Lynx in 2004.

“From the minute she got into the gym, you could see her competitiveness and her desire to want to win,” Kaack said. “That connected us immediately. I am really thankful for the two years under her.”

McConnell-Serio identified Kaack as someone she needed to retain.

“I was familiar with Kristi and her game, and then when I was hired, I had the opportunity to watch some film and met with her,” McConnell-Serio said. “Immediately, I was impressed with her on and off the court. She came across as a great leader. When I had the opportunity to start working with her, I immediately felt like we could build a team around her, because when your best player is your hardest worker, it makes my job easier as a coach.”

Kaack was the conference’s defensive player of the year both seasons under McConnell-Serio.

“When Suzie came in, it flipped a switch,” Kaack said. “She started to encourage more of my offensive side. I felt like she helped me become the player that I was and helped me get better.”

Kaack helped Duquesne win 20 games her senior season and earn a WNIT bid.

Following her final game at Duquesne, Kaack began a professional career overseas in Hungary, but that experience was short-lived.

“I signed with a Hungarian agent that had a relationship with my assistant coach at Duquesne,” Kaack said. “I played professionally for a year (during the 2009-2010 season). I am a really picky eater, and I struggled with the food and the language barrier. I was the only American on our team. I think if I had been in a different situation, I probably would have played more years.”

Kaack followed her playing career by achieving an incredible balance between two big responsibilities — coaching and becoming a mother.

She married Adam Kaack in 2008, and they have four children — Brayden (13), Carter (10), Christian (6) and Miles (4).

Kaack has coached Bishop Guilfoyle while pregnant and had to take a break from the bench in 2019-2020 as Adam filled in at BG before Christian was born during the season.

After coaching through the COVID-19 pandemic, she has kept the Lady Marauders among the state’s best programs.

“Even as my kids get older, my family does a really good job at balancing everything,” Kaack said. “We make sure our kids are taken care of, and we have a very good family and support system.”

McConnell-Serio can’t help but see the irony.

“It’s so funny, because she was delegating and directing as a point guard for us and now she’s doing that as a coach,” she said. “And I look at her having four boys. As a point guard, you took care of your four teammates, and now she’s taking care of her four boys. She has her own little team as a family.”

Blair Hall of Fame

What: Blair County Sports Hall of Fame’s 21th induction

When: Saturday, April 11

Where: Blair County Convention Center

Inductees: Dave Baker, Cathy Beam, Lori (McConnell) Elgin, George Geishauer, Kristi (Little) Kaack

Team inductees: 1994-95 and 1995-96 Altoona Area High School girls basketball teams

Lifetime Achievement Award winner: Bob Moore

Guest speaker: Hannah Storm

Emcee: Bob Pompeani

Tickets: $100 each or $1,000 for tables of 10. Call Kathy Millward at 814-312-4753 or email kmillward@beardlegalgroup.com. Ticket forms are available at blaircountysportshof.