Corvallis, OR (U-WIRE) -- New Oregon State women's basketball LaVonda Wagner didn't waste anytime making her presence felt at Monday's press conference.

Wagner is bringing a championship mentality to OSU and is looking to turn the Beavers into a contender in the near future.

OSU was fortunate to get a coach of Wagner's quality, as she turned down multiple offers before accepting the job at OSU.

"I was looking for a situation where I could come in and I could be successful, but also had the support and the vision of the people at the top who understood what it took and really wanted to take this journey with me," Wagner said.

Prior to arriving in Corvallis, Wagner was an assistant coach at Duke University, where a big part of her job was recruiting players to the national powerhouse.

Wagner shared her plans for bringing athletes into OSU's program. She's determined to keep in-state talent at home.

"The first thing that myself and my staff have to do is get out into the state of Oregon and really meet the right people and get in touch with the players that are here and really try to own the state," Wagner said.

OSU Director of Athletics Bob De Carolis did a little recruiting himself when it came to Wagner.

"She jumped to the top of the pile (of candidates) real quick and we were still early in the process and she stayed our number one candidate all the way through," De Carolis said. "We said this is going to have to be a recruiting job; this is not an interview anymore."

Wagner, who is replacing Judy Spoelstra, let go after 10 seasons with OSU, said all of Spoelstra's incoming recruits will remain Beavers and enroll this fall.

After last year's disappointing season in which the Beavers finished 6-23, including a 1-17 mark in Pac-10 play, Wagner realizes her job will be difficult.

"We're starting this from scratch, and we're building a strong foundation that will last for years and years to come," Wagner said.

Junior Ebony Young, agreed with her new coach's assessment.

"You can't build greatness overnight," Young said. "We can't go anywhere but up. 1-17, I know we're going to win way more than one game."

Young stressed that it will be up to the players to step up in practice to see change.

"In order to beat people you do it off the court," Young said. "Like she (Wagner) said, 'champions are made when no one's watching.'"

The team has already noticed differences between Wagner and Spoelstra.

"There's going to be a set structure and it's going to be a little more disciplined," said junior forward Kim Butler. "The expectations are going to be very, very high."

"You can just tell that she's motivated and intense and you want to play for her. We're definitely not going to be 1-17 in the Pac-10."

And Wagner isn't limiting her goals and expectations to athletics -- she expects great things from her players in the classroom as well.

"Oregon State University, right now, is a program, academically and athletically, that is on the rise," Wagner said.

De Carolis said Wagner's hiring means the bar has been risen for the program,

"Today, with this announcement, we're showing our commitment to meeting our goal and that is to vie for championships in the conference of champions; the Pac-10," De Carolis said. "By doing that, we'll be competitive nationally and we're very excited about the person that's going to lead us in that."

Wagner is equally thrilled by the prospect of helping OSU accomplish those lofty goals.

"I'm extremely excited to be at a university that is a high academic university and to be in the Pac-10," Wagner said. "Nothing but great things are going to happen."

(C) 2004 OSU Daily Barometer via U-WIRE