Rice University Director of Athletics Joe Karlgaard announced on Friday that former North Carolina State University women’s basketball associate head coach Lindsay Edmonds has been named the sixth head coach in Owls’ history.
“Lindsay Edmonds stood out among a very talented pool in our coaching search,” Karlgaard said. “She has the experience and track record we are looking for to continue the recent success of our program and build upon it. Everywhere Lindsay has coached, she has won. Her student-athletes have excelled in the classroom and in the community. I’m excited for her to lead the next chapter of Rice women’s basketball.”
“I am extremely excited and honored to be named the next head coach at Rice University,” Edmonds said. “I want to thank President David Leebron, Dr. Joe Karlgaard and Stacy Mosely for entrusting me with the great privilege of leading this program. Rice is a very special place made up by wonderful people. The student-athletes here get to have a tremendous experience of not only excelling on the basketball court but in the classroom as well. My family and I feel incredibly blessed to become a part of the Rice Owl family! We can’t wait to get to Houston to meet the team and others in the Rice community, and to approach everything we do with a championship mentality.”
Edmonds comes to Rice after eight successful seasons with the Wolfpack. She served as an assistant coach from 2013-18, adding Recruiting Coordinator duties in 2018, before being elevated to associate head coach prior to the start of the 2019-20 campaign.
During her tenure in Raleigh, N.C., Edmonds and head coach Wes Moore led the Wolfpack to an overall record of 190-65, including an 89-39 mark in the ACC, along with five NCAA Tournament appearances and three NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 berths (2018, 2019, 2021).
In her eight seasons with the Wolfpack, Edmonds was on the staff of an NC State team that produced three WNBA Draft picks, including two first round selections in center Kiara Leslie (R1-P10, 2019) and Markeisha Gatling (R1-P10, 2014).
The Wolfpack is coming off of a 2020-21 campaign in which Edmonds helped guide the team to their third consecutive Sweet 16 appearance and a 22-3 record. NC State won the ACC Tournament for a second straight year and finished the season ranked No. 7 in the WBCA Top 25 Coaches Poll.
Edmonds and the Wolfpack won the program’s first conference tournament since 1991 in 2019-20, posting a 28-4 overall record as they compiled the most single-season conference wins in program history.
In 2018-19 the Wolfpack achieved the longest winning streak (21 games) in program history and recorded the best start in program history (21-0) as well, advancing to their second straight Sweet 16. That same year, Edmonds helped bring in the No. 7 ranked recruiting class in the nation according to ESPN.
The year prior (2017-18), NC State won 26 games and returned to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007.
In her first season at NC State (2013-14), Edmonds helped lead the Pack to a 25-8 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance. After an 18-15 campaign in 2014-15 and a 20-11 season in 2015-16, Edmonds guided NC State to second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2016-17 with a 23-9 record. That season, she also helped author upsets of four top-15 teams: No. 2 Notre Dame, at No. 6 Florida State, No. 12 Duke and at No. 9 Louisville.
Prior to her move to NC State, Edmonds was an assistant coach at James Madison University from 2009-13. In her four seasons with the Dukes, the team won two Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championships, played in two NCAA Tournaments and made two WNIT appearances.
Edmonds’ first collegiate coaching stop came at her alma mater, Appalachian State, from 2007-09. Edmonds was recruiting coordinator and worked with the Mountaineer backcourt. In 2005-06, she served as assistant coach at Andrew High School in High Point, N.C., and also coached the AAU elite Team Phoenix.
Edmonds (then Lindsay Smith) was a four-year starter and 1,000 point scorer at Appalachian State. She was a team co-captain in her final two seasons and led the Mountaineers in assists during her junior and senior years.
Edmonds is a native of Winston-Salem, N.C., and holds a bachelor’s degree in health promotions and is also a graduate of the NCAA Women’s Coaches Academy.
Edmonds is married to Ulrick Edmonds and the couple has three daughters – Nylah, Halyn and Ahlyna.
Photo Courtesy Rice Athletics
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