View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
purduefanatic
Joined: 10 Aug 2011 Posts: 2819 Location: Indiana
Back to top |
Posted: 02/19/21 1:22 pm ::: Coaches on the rise |
Reply |
|
So, we always have a coaches on the hot seat thread and there is never a shortage of those. However, I was wondering who some of the upstarts may be that are honing their craft in the mid-major ranks. What caught my eye last week when I noticed teams cancelling their season in the America East was Maine being on top of that league yet again. That's a league I have a little familiarity with simply from McCallie going to Michigan State from there and then obviously Versyp getting her head coaching start there as well.
Anyway, their current head coach is a former player named Amy Vachon. She has had a ton of success into her 4th full season and has them poised for their 3rd NCAA Tournament in 4 years, including last year which had no tourney. She seems to be a tremendous coach with the little research I have done but the caveat is she is from Maine (an hour or so from the school) so I have no idea if she would even be willing to move. That said, she seems like she is on the fast track but maybe she ends up being a Robin Selvig, the long time coach at Montana who had tons of success but just never left for the "greener" pastures.
Another coach I'm familiar with is Austin Parkinson at IUPUI. He has been very successful at an IUPUI program (Horizon League) that really hadn't had a whole lot of tradition. He has been there for 10 or 11 years and has won 20+ games for 5 straight years and 7 out of 8. They finally got to the NCAA's in 2020 only to have the tourney cancelled thanks to covid. This year they are 2nd and have a great chance to follow up with another title and hopefully get to the NCAA's again. He is a native of Indiana so he may not be looking to move either but his resume is pretty strong.
So, what other current head coaches at the mid-major level are there that may be ready to make a jump up?
|
|
ClayK
Joined: 11 Oct 2005 Posts: 11403
Back to top |
Posted: 02/19/21 2:29 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
OK, a little bias, I admit: Tracy Sanders, who played as Tracy Morris at Campolindo HS (where I was an assistant) and St. Mary's College, is in her third year at Southern Utah. (She spent 12 years as an assistant at SMC.)
First year, they went from four to eight wins. Second year, they won 18 games, best since 2014, and this year, they're 9-5 after winning six of their last seven (only loss to Arizona State, by 11).
And another note: Her daughter Samantha, who I also coached, is getting 6 mpg as a freshman.
And on top of that, Tracy is one of the nicest people you would ever meet.
_________________ Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā
|
|
IM in OC
Joined: 25 Mar 2009 Posts: 1001 Location: Orange County, CA
Back to top |
|
summertime blues
Joined: 16 Apr 2013 Posts: 7884 Location: Shenandoah Valley
Back to top |
Posted: 02/19/21 4:20 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
At one point I thought maybe Charlotte Smith at Elon might be, but Elon seems to be a bit stuck lately. That may be due to recruiting problems in this conference, though. She's a damn good coach, for my money. Sean O'Regan at JMU could be, but I think his allegiance is firmly with JMU...he graduated from there in 2013 and has spent his entire career there.
_________________ Don't take life so serious. It ain't nohows permanent.
It takes 3 years to build a team and 7 to build a program.--Conventional Wisdom
|
|
purduefanatic
Joined: 10 Aug 2011 Posts: 2819 Location: Indiana
Back to top |
Posted: 02/19/21 4:36 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
Damn, that's impressive! I had no idea.
Thank you all who have commented so far...this is exactly what I was hoping for. Love seeing the names I know nothing about so I can check them out. Clay, nothing wrong with a personal bias as long as they are legit and she certainly sounds like she fits the criteria.
|
|
pilight
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 67491 Location: Where the action is
Back to top |
Posted: 02/19/21 4:39 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
Gotta think someone will lift Lisa Fortier from Gonzaga soon.
Karl Smesko has been talked about as potential major conference hire for a while.
Mark Kellogg has gotten Stephen F Austin back to respectability.
_________________ The truth is like poetry
Most people hate poetry
|
|
purduefanatic
Joined: 10 Aug 2011 Posts: 2819 Location: Indiana
Back to top |
Posted: 02/19/21 4:47 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
pilight wrote: |
Gotta think someone will lift Lisa Fortier from Gonzaga soon.
Karl Smesko has been talked about as potential major conference hire for a while.
Mark Kellogg has gotten Stephen F Austin back to respectability. |
Know about Fortier and Smesko, know nothing about Kellogg. I will have to check him out. Smesko has turned down some jobs in the past right? Fortier has a great thing in Gonzaga and with the men's team being so popular as well, life has to be pretty good in Spokane. Gonna take something pretty special to tear her away from there I would think.
SFA was really, really good back when Royce Chadwick was coaching them. They were always a very tough out in the postseason.
|
|
GlennMacGrady
Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 8314 Location: Heisenberg
Back to top |
Posted: 02/19/21 4:51 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
38-year-old Jennie Baranczyk at Drake. At the end of last season, she was 174-83 (.677) in her first eight years as a head coach.
|
|
PUmatty
Joined: 10 Nov 2004 Posts: 16516 Location: Chicago
Back to top |
Posted: 02/19/21 4:54 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
It's NAIA, but Katie Gearlds won the national titles in her first four years at Marion College - the team had only ever made the tournament once before she got there.
I would have to think she is ripe for a move up the ladder.
|
|
Howee
Joined: 27 Nov 2009 Posts: 15838 Location: OREGON (in my heart)
Back to top |
Posted: 02/19/21 4:56 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
Karl Smesko.
He's hardly an *upstart*....he's been at FGCU for almost 20 years now.
His record is 549-120 overall. He won a NAIA DII championship in his first year as a head coach (with a team that only got in with an at-large bid), and among other things, has earned the Kay Yow Award.
He did turn down USC three years ago, when they recruited him. I'd just love to see him in a P5 school, but....maybe he's happy being consistently on top in a mid-major.
_________________ Oregon: Go Ducks!
"Inévitablement, les canards voleront"
|
|
LitePal
Joined: 08 Sep 2005 Posts: 613
Back to top |
Posted: 02/19/21 5:20 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
Unless another school gets him first, I think Smesko goes to USC when Trakh retires or his contract is up, which is two years. A new AD might put more emphasis on wbb at USC. It might cost them 500k to get him (he turned down 400k last time) but should a university which is struggling financially consider that kind of a salary for such a low attended sport?
|
|
okstateguy
Joined: 18 Feb 2021 Posts: 470 Location: Oklahoma
Back to top |
Posted: 02/19/21 8:02 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
Off the top of my head, I could see Katrina Merriweather of Wright State and Jalie Mitchell of North Texas both being coaches on the rise. Merriweather has Purdue ties, if my memory serves me correct, and could be a potential contender for that job at some point(if I'm right on the ties).
An Assistant Coach I see that could make a strong step forward could be Lacey Goldwire of Tennessee. Has worked for several strong coaches, and appears to have a strong track record of helping develop perimeter talent. Seems to be a real "players coach".
|
|
Howee
Joined: 27 Nov 2009 Posts: 15838 Location: OREGON (in my heart)
Back to top |
Posted: 02/19/21 8:28 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
Welcome to Rebs, okstateguy....we can always use more Big 12 fans here!
_________________ Oregon: Go Ducks!
"Inévitablement, les canards voleront"
|
|
Marquette Fan
Joined: 06 Mar 2005 Posts: 3582
Back to top |
|
mzonefan
Joined: 15 Oct 2005 Posts: 4879 Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Back to top |
Posted: 02/19/21 9:37 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
okstateguy wrote: |
Off the top of my head, I could see Katrina Merriweather of Wright State and Jalie Mitchell of North Texas both being coaches on the rise. Merriweather has Purdue ties, if my memory serves me correct, and could be a potential contender for that job at some point(if I'm right on the ties).
An Assistant Coach I see that could make a strong step forward could be Lacey Goldwire of Tennessee. Has worked for several strong coaches, and appears to have a strong track record of helping develop perimeter talent. Seems to be a real "players coach". |
Merriweather’s ties to Purdue were infamous! https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/news/story?id=2986858
|
|
Queenie
Joined: 18 Nov 2004 Posts: 18131 Location: Queens
Back to top |
Posted: 02/19/21 11:13 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
Yeah, I do not see that reunion happening at Purdue.
_________________ "We all have a platform. We all have a voice & they all hold weight. Silence is a luxury."
|
|
okstateguy
Joined: 18 Feb 2021 Posts: 470 Location: Oklahoma
Back to top |
Posted: 02/19/21 11:34 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
mzonefan wrote: |
okstateguy wrote: |
Off the top of my head, I could see Katrina Merriweather of Wright State and Jalie Mitchell of North Texas both being coaches on the rise. Merriweather has Purdue ties, if my memory serves me correct, and could be a potential contender for that job at some point(if I'm right on the ties).
An Assistant Coach I see that could make a strong step forward could be Lacey Goldwire of Tennessee. Has worked for several strong coaches, and appears to have a strong track record of helping develop perimeter talent. Seems to be a real "players coach". |
Merriweather’s ties to Purdue were infamous! https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/news/story?id=2986858 |
That would be why I feel like there was a connection! Strike Purdue off her list, but seems to be doing a pretty clean job thus far at the helm. Would be interesting to see if any P5 schools take a gamble on her at some point.
_________________ okstateguy
|
|
pilight
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 67491 Location: Where the action is
Back to top |
Posted: 02/19/21 11:45 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
I almost mentioned Merriweather, but she's had a relatively brief stint as head coach and comes with baggage. If she keeps winning she'll get a look eventually.
_________________ The truth is like poetry
Most people hate poetry
|
|
SDHoops
Joined: 09 Nov 2007 Posts: 1183
Back to top |
Posted: 02/19/21 11:56 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
Jory Collins has turned around the NDSU WBB program in just his second season with a career winning percentage and moved into fourth all-time in program history for coaching victories. The Bison are currently third in the Summit League standings and recently lost to SDSU to an 8 point margin. He was the head coach at Emporia State and as assistant at KU a few years ago.
|
|
myrtle
Joined: 02 May 2008 Posts: 32341
Back to top |
Posted: 02/20/21 12:48 am ::: |
Reply |
|
Ethridge at WSU is not exactly a Spring chicken but she did a pretty good job at Northern Colorado before inheriting a bottom P12 team. This is her third year at WSU and this team is already a huge step above anything in recent history at WSU. It may just be because she hit the jackpot with Leger-Walker, but whatever the reason, I'll be curious to see how they progress.
|
|
ucbart
Joined: 21 Nov 2004 Posts: 2835 Location: New York
Back to top |
|
Marquette Fan
Joined: 06 Mar 2005 Posts: 3582
Back to top |
|
mzonefan
Joined: 15 Oct 2005 Posts: 4879 Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Back to top |
Posted: 02/20/21 4:08 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
Dawn Plitzuweit at South Dakota has been around long enough that she’s no longer up and coming but has enough career in front of her to be considered for a P5 job. As a Wisconsin native, I’d look for her to go to Wisconsin if Tsipis gets let go or Green Bay when Borseth retires (he’s 66).
Dawn won the D2 championship at Grand Valley in 2006. She left D2 to be the AHC under Borseth at Michigan. When he returned to Green Bay, she became the coach at Northern Kentucky and then South Dakota. She’s won over 70% of her games as a head coach.
|
|
PickledGinger
Joined: 04 Oct 2013 Posts: 1390
Back to top |
Posted: 02/20/21 7:04 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
Lisa Fortier could ABSOLUTELY coach not just a P5 team, but an elite one. Amaka Agugua-Hamilton is, like Duffy, only in her second season at Missouri State and I can't see her being there more than 1 or 2 more if she sustains this level of play. I don't know a ton about assistant coaches but someone mentioned Mark Campbell from Oregon a while back on a different thread, I think he'd be a great coach.
_________________ Unspoken expectations are just premeditated resentments.
|
|
NoDakSt
Joined: 26 Oct 2005 Posts: 4929
Back to top |
Posted: 02/20/21 7:40 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
SDHoops wrote: |
Jory Collins has turned around the NDSU WBB program in just his second season with a career winning percentage and moved into fourth all-time in program history for coaching victories. The Bison are currently third in the Summit League standings and recently lost to SDSU to an 8 point margin. He was the head coach at Emporia State and as assistant at KU a few years ago. |
Shhhhhh........What happens in Fargo Must stay in Fargo.
|
|
|
|