March 26, 2025
2025 women’s college basketball coaching carousel
Robin Pingeton moves from SEC to Big Ten
The 2024-25 women’s basketball season is coming to an end. As a result, the coaching carousel has begun to spin. Here’s a look at the openings and hirings that have already happened, as of 2 p.m. on March 25:
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A-10
George Washington Revolutionaries: On February 24, head coach Caroline McCombs stepped down from her position as head coach. She spent four years with the Revolutionaries and has a 55-65 record. The team finished the season 13-18 with Doug Novak serving as an interim coach. On March 30, Ganiyat Adeduntan was named as head coach after four-years as head coach at Colgate.
American East
UMass Lowell River Hawks: On March 5, Denise King and UMass Lowell parted ways after four seasons. The team went 3-25 this season.
Florida Atlantic Owls: Jennifer Sullivan stepped down from her head coaching position with Florida Atlantic. She will be joining Missouri’s basketball team as an assistant coach.
Atlantic Sun Conference
Florida Gulf Coast Eagles: On March 24, Chelsea Lyles announced she’ll be stepping down from her head coaching position after one season. She will be joining the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream staff.
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Big 12
Arizona State Sun Devils: On March 8, Arizona State announced that they were parting ways with head coach Natasha Adair, who went 29-62 during her three seasons with the Sun Devils. Molly Miller will replace her after spending the last five seasons with the Grand Canyon Lopes. Miller led the Lopes to their first NCAA Tournament appearance this year. The squad finished the season with a 32-3 record and a 30-game winning streak.
BYU Cougars: On March 8, BYU announced that head coach Amber Whiting was let go after three seasons. This was the teams first time competing in the Big 12 and they went 3-17 over all this season and 4-14 in conference play.
Houston Cougars: Ronald Hughey resigned after 11 seasons. He is leaving with a 140-195 record. During his time with the team, he led the Cougars to three WNIT first-round appearances. Replacing him is Matthew Mitchell, who served as the head coach at Kentucky from 2007-20.
Big East
DePaul Blue Demons: On March 28, Doug Bruno stepped down from his head coaching position at DePaul. However, he was on medical leave since October 7 following a medical incident. He had a 786-405 record throughout his 39 seasons with the team.
Big Ten
Wisconsin Badgers: Marisa Moseley stepped down from her position as head coach on March 9. Over the past four seasons, Moseley went 47-75 in Madison. This season, the Badgers went 13-16 and played in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament but lost in the first round, ending their season.
On March 25, the school announced Robin Pingeton as the program’s new head coach. Previously, Pingeton led Missouri’s program from 2010-25 compiling a 250-218 record and 10 postseason appearances. Over her 30-year head coaching career, she’s racked up 585 wins, including a stint at Illinois State where she led the Redbirds to three straight Missouri Valley Conference regular season titles, two conference tournament championships, four consecutive 20-win seasons, two NCAA Tournament berths and three WNIT appearances.
Northwestern: On March 23, head coach Joe McKeown announced that he will be retiring at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season. He will be leaving the program after his 18th season as the longest tenured and winningest head women’s basketball coach in Northwestern history.
Horizon
Oakland Golden Grizzlies: On Dec. 9, Jeff Tungate retired as head coach. The Golden Grizzlies finished 9-22 this season. Deanna Richard stepped in as interim head coach, but will be replaced by Keisha Newell, who will be moving up from Lewis University, a Division II school. She led the team to three straight NCAA Tournaments and holds a 69-22 overall record.
Detroit Mercy Titans: On March 28, Kate Achter left her position as head coach at Detroit Mercy. During her time with the Titans, she led the team to win the Horizon League tournament. She will be Western Michigan University’s new head coach in the 2025-26 season.
MAC
Northern Illinois Huskies: Lisa Carlsen resigned from her position as head coach after 10 seasons. The Huskies were 13-17 this season.
MAAC
Rider Broncs: Lynn Milligan was let go from her position as head coach. This year, the team had a 7-22 record. She was with the Broncs for 18 seasons and was 214-332 overall and 139-203 in conference play.
Mid-American
Western Michigan Broncos: Shane Clipfell announced his retirement on March 17. He spent 13 seasons with the Broncos led the team to 184 wins. He became the program’s all-time winningest coach. Replacing him is Kate Achter, who spent the previous basketball season as head coach for Detroit Mercy.
NEC
Mercyhurst Lakers: After six seasons with the Lakers, Brooklyn Kohlheim will no longer be their head coach. Kohleim went 69-88 during her time with the team.
OVC
Morehead State Eagles: Chris Palmer, who has served as interim head coach for the 2024-25 season, will not be returning in the next season. The school’s director of athletics announced the decision on March 6. Replacing Palmer is Ashton Feldhaus, who led Missouri Western, a D-II school, to the NCAA tournament. She also served as an assistant coach for five seasons as D-II Eckerd College.
Patriot
American University Eagles: After a 1-29 season, Tiffany Coll will no longer be serving as American University’s head coach. Coll went 20-71 over her three seasons with the team.
Colgate University Raiders : Ganiyat Adeduntan left her head coaching position with Colgate for the same title at George Washington.
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SEC
Arkansas Razorbacks: On March 11, Mike Neighbors resigned as head coach after going 148-114 with the team. He took over in 2017 and led the Razorbacks to two NCAA Tournament appearances. This season, the team went 10-22 and had a 3-13 record in the SEC. Replacing him is Kelsi Musick, who led Oral Roberts to postseason appearances in the past two seasons.
Auburn Tigers: On March 6, Johnnie Harris was let go from her position has head coach after four seasons with the Tigers and a 58-63 record. Replacing her is Larry Vickers, who was previously coaching at Norfolk State. There, he led the team to consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships as well as three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Missouri Tigers: In February, Robin Pingeton announced her resignation as head coach at the conclusion of the season. She went 250-218 in 15 seasons with the team. Replacing her is former Tennessee coach Kellie Harper, who went 108-52 in five years. After the 2023-24 season, Harper was fired after the Lady Vols had an overall record of 20-13.
Southland
Houston Christian Huskies: Donna Finnie’s contract will not be renewed after being the Huskies head coach for 12 seasons.
McNeese Cowgirls: On March 6, McNeese announced that they were not renewing Lynn Kennedy’s contract. The coach went 41-78 over his four seasons with the team.
SE Louisiana Lady Lions: On March 22, it was announced that Ayla Guzzardo will be leaving her head coaching position at SE Louisiana to lead McNeese. She spent eight seasons with the team. Replacing her is Jeff Dow, who recently coached at Incarnate Word.
Summit
Oral Robert Golden Eagles: Kelsi Musick decided to leave her position with the Golden Eagles for a new head coaching gig at Arkansas. Under her leadership, the team made history last season after achieving the program’s first 20-win season since 2011-12. She also led the team to the postseason for the first time since 2011.
Sun Belt
Southern Miss Lady Eagles: On February 25, Joye Lee-McNelis announced her retirement from her head coaching position after 21 seasons. The Lady Eagles ended their season with a loss in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament. They went 10-21 this season.
UL Monroe Warhawks: Missy Bilderback left her head coaching position after two seasons with the team on March 23. She has been named the head coach of Southern Miss, which is her alma mater. Replacing her is Scotty Fletcher, who was previously at Pearl River Community College.
WAC
Grand Canyon Lopes: Molly Miller will be leaving her position with Grand Canyon and joining Arizona State as their new head coach. This season, she led the Lopes to their first WAC tournament title and first NCAA tournament appearance. Winston Gandy will join the team as head coach.
WCC
San Diego Toreros: On Feb. 22, San Diego announced that head coach Cindy Fisher will not be returning to her position. Fisher has been with the team since 2005 and was a three-time WCC coach of the year. She’s leaving the team with a record of 346-270.
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