New eras and potential hot seat candidates: 12 coaches to watch

The sidelines will look very different at some programs for the first time in a long time this season in women’s college basketball.

Kate Paye (Stanford) and Jan Jensen (Iowa) spent a combined 41 years as assistants at their respective schools before becoming head coaches. Meanwhile, Kim Caldwell spent one season in Division I before Tennessee hired her to take over one of the most storied programs in college athletics.

Such is the dramatic contrast with three of the most high-profile changes for the 2024-25 season. Paye replaced Tara VanDerveer, who retired after 38 seasons and three national championships at Stanford. Jensen took over for Lisa Bluder, who retired after 24 seasons, the last two ending in the national championship game.

VanDerveer’s absence is the most significant change, considering she is the all-time winningest coach in Division I basketball (a record UConn coach Geno Auriemma is expected to pass later this month).

Paye played for VanDerveer at Stanford before joining her staff. Jensen played at Drake for Bluder before both went to Iowa as coaches in 2000. Now, after paying their dues a long time, Paye and Jensen are in charge.

With the season just getting underway this week, we look at both sides of the coaching coin. First, those who are in new roles or at new programs and hope to make a splash right away. But also those who might be near the end of their current tenures, depending perhaps on how this season unfolds.

Will they be hits?

Kenny Brooks, Kentucky Wildcats

Brooks has a program-building background, first at his alma mater James Madison (14 seasons) and then Virginia Tech (eight seasons). He replaces Kyra Elzy, who was fired after going 61-60 overall and 23-40 in the Southeastern Conference in four seasons at Kentucky.

Brooks’ Hokies made the Final Four for the first time in program history in 2023. He will try to do the same thing for Kentucky, which has been as far as the Elite Eight four times.

Kim Caldwell, Tennessee Lady Vols

Tennessee fired alum Kellie Harper, who went 108-52 overall and 53-24 in the SEC in five seasons, and opted for an out-of-the-box hire in Caldwell. She has one year of Division I coaching experience, going 26-7 last season at Marshall.

Before that, Caldwell won a Division II national title guiding her alma mater, Glenville State, in 2022. She brings a frenetic pace to Tennessee on offense and defense. Can it work in the SEC? We’ll find out.

Tricia Cullop, Miami Hurricanes

Katie Meier retired after 19 seasons with the Hurricanes, including an Elite Eight trip in 2023. Cullop started her college coaching career in 1993 as an assistant at Radford. She has been a head coach since 2000, spending eight seasons at Evansville and 16 at Toledo, with the Rockets winning the 2011 WNIT title. So that’s a ton of experience before getting a first major-conference job.

Megan Duffy, Virginia Tech Hokies

Brooks’ departure disappointed a lot of Hokies fans, but it’s a new era now in Blacksburg. Duffy is a former Notre Dame player who had a winning record in all five of her seasons at Marquette, making three NCAA tournament appearances.

With two of Virginia Tech’s most successful players gone — Elizabeth Kitley to the WNBA and Georgia Amoore transferring to Kentucky — Duffy’s first season has a freshman- and sophomore-heavy roster.

Jan Jensen, Iowa Hawkeyes

Jensen was with Bluder every step of the way for nearly a quarter-century at Iowa and played a big role in every part of the program. Jensen is especially well-regarded for developing post players. With Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall having moved on, the Hawkeyes will lean on the experience of players such as Hannah Stuelke and Sydney Affolter. The way Iowa plays shouldn’t change that much.

Kate Paye, Stanford Cardinal

A former guard, she played for VanDerveer’s 1992 NCAA title team and was an assistant for the 2021 championship squad. Paye has a law degree and a master’s in business from Stanford, plus she played in the WNBA. She returned to her alma mater as an assistant in 2007, and helped lead the Cardinal to nine Final Four appearances.

Paye has a huge challenge that VanDerveer didn’t: Stanford’s move to the ACC. We will see how different (or not) the Cardinal might look with Paye in charge.

Shawn Poppie, Clemson Tigers

He spent six seasons as an assistant for Brooks at Virginia Tech, then the last two as head coach at Chattanooga, where he went 48-18 and won two Southern Conference titles. Clemson’s best era was 1987-2002, when the Tigers made 14 NCAA tournament appearances under Jim Davis. Clemson has made the NCAA field only once since: in 2018 under Amanda Butler, who was fired after last season.

Poppie’s challenge: reestablishing the Tigers in a state where South Carolina has become one of the best programs in all of college sports.

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Will this be it?

Joanna Bernabei-McNamee, Boston College Eagles

All seven of the program’s NCAA tournament appearances came under Cathy Inglese from 1999 to 2006. Bernabei-McNamee has had two winning records in her six seasons, but is 36-65 in the ACC.

Krista Gerlich, Texas Tech Lady Raiders

Gerlich, a starting guard for Texas Tech’s national championship team in 1993, is in her fifth season with her alma mater and is 20-52 in the Big 12. The Lady Raiders have struggled since coaching legend Marsha Sharp retired in 2006: They’ve had four coaches and only two NCAA tournament appearances since.

Ronald Hughey, Houston Cougars

Unlike the Houston men, the school’s women’s team has had little success: five NCAA tournament appearances, the last in 2011. Hughey took over in 2014 and has three winning records in 10 seasons. His contract runs through this season.

With Houston’s move to the Big 12 last year, can the program become major-conference worthy? Will that require a coaching change?

Joe McKeown, Northwestern Wildcats

This is McKeown’s 17th season with Northwestern, and the Wildcats have made the NCAA tournament twice in his tenure. They also would have gone in 2020 had that tournament not been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That was McKeown’s best season with the Wildcats at 26-4. The past two seasons, they are a combined 18-42 overall and 6-30 in the Big Ten.

Robin Pingeton, Missouri Tigers

This is Pingeton’s 15th season at Mizzou, with her contract set to expire in April. The Tigers’ four NCAA tournament appearances in her tenure came in 2016-19, during the career of current Phoenix Mercury player Sophie Cunningham. In the five seasons since she graduated, Mizzou is 25-53 in the SEC.