Story: AJ Nelson, Senior Staff Writer, WHoopDirt.com
BOSTON, MA – The following women’s college basketball coaches have been honored with the Week 2 WHoopDirt.com Coach of the Week Award, presented by FastBreak PlayBook. These coaches are now eligible for the prestigious WHoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award, presented by FastBreak PlayBook, which will be announced at the conclusion of the 2024-25 college basketball season.
This year, WHoopDirt.com has partnered with FastBreak PlayBook to bring even more value to the Coach of the Week program. As part of the collaboration, each weekly winner will receive a complimentary Full-Team Annual Membership to the FastBreak PlayBook platform.
“FastBreak PlayBook is very excited to partner with WhoopDirt for the Coach of the Week Award. We are passionate about bringing a spotlight to deserving women’s basketball coaches and look forward to providing a free Full-Team Annual Membership to each winner.” -Kendall Acho, Chief Operating Officer
This marks the fifth season of WHoopDirt.com’s Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. Below, you’ll find the list of Week 2 recipients, along with a complete list of 2023-24 Coach of the Week winners and past Coach of the Year honorees.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The Week 2 winners are:
D1: Kenny Brooks – University of Kentucky
Coach Brooks led Kentucky to a pair of hard-fought victories this week, including a huge streak-snapping win over an in-state rival. The 20th-ranked Wildcats defeated Wofford 76-42 at home on Tuesday, before hosting a top-25 showdown with No. 18 Louisville on Saturday. Despite trailing for much of the game, Kentucky was able to come away with a 71-61 victory in overtime, breaking a seven-game losing streak against the Cardinals and marking their first win in the rivalry matchup since 2015. Now 4-0 on the season, the Wildcats will likely move up the top-25 rankings ahead of their matchup with Purdue Fort Wayne at home on Monday evening.
NCAA D2: Buffie Burson – University of North Georgia
Coach Burson’s North Georgia squad moved to a perfect 4-0 on the season with two more impressive victories this week. Hosting the UNG Nighthawk Classic, North Georgia took down Livingstone by a score of 70-55 on Friday. The Nighthawks found themselves trailing by one just a few seconds into the fourth quarter, but closed the game on a 25-9 run to emerge victorious. North Georgia then faced off against 16th-ranked Nova Southeastern, which was coming off a program record 111-point performance the day prior. The Nighthawks shut their opponent down offensively, taking a 64-56 victory to remain unbeaten on the season. UNG will look to make it 5-0 to start the year when they host Allen on Friday.
NCAA D3: Laurie Kelly – Gustavus Adolphus College
Coming off of back-to-back three loss seasons, Coach Kelly has Gustavus Adolphus right back to its winning ways to begin the 2024-25 campaign. The No. 11 Gusties picked up a pair of triumphs at the UW – Eau Claire Tip-Off Tournament last weekend before heading back to Wisconsin for a top-15 matchup with 13th-ranked UW – Stout. The game entered the fourth quarter tied at 39, but the Gusties’ offense came alive in the final period to allow them to pull away and take a 62-53 victory. Now 3-0 on the season, Gustavus will again return to Wisconsin for a contest against UW – River Falls on Wednesday night.
NAIA: Bill Harmsen – Dordt University
The No. 1 team in the nation kept rolling this week, as Coach Harmsen’s Defenders won two more games, including another victory over a ranked opponent. Already having taken down #20 Oregon Tech and #17 Grand View this season, Dordt found itself in a showdown of top-10 teams when it matched up against Dakota State in Sioux Falls on Wednesday. The Defenders trailed by as many as six in the fourth quarter, but fought hard to eventually come away with a 79-76 win. Dordt then opened conference play on Saturday, heading to the College of Saint Mary, where it was able to take a dominant 98-47 victory. The Defenders will look to hold onto their No. 1 ranking and move to 6-0 on the season when they return home to take on Waldorf on Wednesday.
JUCO: Mike Seney – CCBC Essex
Coach Seney guided CCBC Essex to four victories across a five-day span this week as the Knights remained perfect on the season. Ranked No. 4 in the NJCAA DII Women’s Top-25 Poll, CCBC Essex defeated Raritan Valley Community College 100-65 on Tuesday before heading to Port Huron, Michigan for the ThumbCoast Tip Off Classic. There, the Knights won three games against tough opponents in three days, taking down RV Lansing CC 90-70 on Thursday, #6 Lake Land 68-58 on Friday, and #22 Harcum 81-65 on Friday. The wins pushed CCBC Essex to 7-0 on the season, with all seven victories coming by double-digits. The Knights will continue their seven-game road trip on Wednesday night when they face off against Monroe University.
2023-24 Weekly Winners
NCAA DI: Larry Vickers – Norfolk State University
NCAA DII: Megan Dzikas – Florida Southern College
NCAA DIII: Meg Barber – NYU
NAIA: Bill Harmsen – Dordt University
JUCO: MJ Baker – Northwest Florida State College
NCAA DI: Nicki Collen – Baylor University
NCAA DII: John Nakpodia – University of District Columbia
NCAA DIII: Christin Gowan – McDaniel College
NAIA: Jeff Nickel – Georgetown College (KY)
JUCO: Kori Stephenson – Mesa CC
NCAA DI: Wes Moore – North Carolina State
NCAA DII: Tom Shirley – Thomas Jefferson University
NCAA DIII: Juli Fulks – Transylvania University
NAIA: Ginger High Colvin – Campbellsville University
JUCO: Erika Harris – Moberly Area CC
NCAA DI: Joye Lee-McNelis – Southern Miss
NCAA DII: Anna Kowalska – Wheeling University
NCAA DIII: Kelly Thompson – Roger Williams University
NAIA: DeWitte Mandley – Wiley University
JUCO: Mike Helmer – Butler Community College
NCAA DI: Jason Burton – University of North Texas
NCAA DII: Will Brown – College of St. Rose
NCAA DIII: Kate Vlahakis – Manhattanville College
NAIA: Ethan Whaley – Indiana Wesleyan University
JUCO: Bob McKinley – Weatherford College
NCAA DI: Anthony Bozzella – Seton Hall
NCAA DII: Kurt Westendorp – Ferris State University
NCAA DIII: Hannah Iverson – UW-Stout
NAIA: Kevin Herod – Langston University
JUCO: Darryl Watkins – Rock Valley College
Week 7
NCAA DI: Christmas Holiday – no winner selected
NCAA DII: Christmas Holiday – no winner selected
NCAA DIII: Christmas Holiday – no winner selected
NAIA: Christmas Holiday – no winner selected
JUCO: Christmas Holiday – no winner selected
NCAA DI: Cori Close – UCLA
NCAA DII: Mike Williams – Grand Valley State University
NCAA DIII: Randi Henderson – Washington University in St. Louis
NAIA: Dennis Hutter – Mayville State
JUCO: Jamarra Robinson – Indian River State College
NCAA DI: Kenny Brooks – Virginia Tech
NCAA DII: Cleve Wright – Gannon University
NCAA DIII: KJ Krasco – Middlebury College
NAIA: Jeff Soderquist – John Brown University
JUCO: Marbely Montas – Union College
NCAA DI: Jesyka Burks-Wiley – Florida International University
NCAA DII: Ann Hancock – Wingate University
NCAA DIII: Brian Morehouse – Hope College
NAIA: Tony Campbell – Reinhardt University
JUCO: Brock Kimball – Cisco College
NCAA DI: Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
NCAA DII: Molly Martin – Regis University
NCAA DIII: Aby Diop – Dickinson College
NAIA: Chad Folsom – Benedictine College
JUCO: Mike Seney – CCBC Essex
NCAA DI: Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
NCAA DII: Trent May – Southern Nazarene University
NCAA DIII: Peg Swadener – Willamette University
NAIA: Alico Dunk – Stillman College
JUCO: Rory Kuhn – Gulf Coast State
NCAA DI: Carla Berube – Princeton University
NCAA DII: Kiera Wooden – West Chester University
NCAA DIII: Ben O’Brien – University of Scranton
NAIA: Hannah Moeller – Mid-America Christian University
JUCO: Riley Maye – Harcum College
NCAA DI: Lisa Fortier – Gonzaga University
NCAA DII: Tyreece Brown – Fayetteville State
NCAA DIII: Jordan Olufson – Webster University
NAIA: Kyle Blankenship – LSU Shreveport
JUCO: Kim Muhl – Kirkwood Community College
NCAA DI: Mark Kellogg – University of West Virginia
NCAA DII: Beth Jillison – Texas Woman’s University
NCAA DIII: Jenna Cosgrove – Rhode Island College
NAIA: Steve Brooks – Marian University
JUCO: Rich Cooper – Rowan College South Jersey – Gloucester
Previous WHoopDirt.com / Pivot Analysis Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 2022-23: Kenny Brooks – Virginia Tech University
- 2021-22: Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
- 2020-21: Adia Barnes – University of Arizona
- 2019-20: Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Division II
- 2022-23: Kari Pickens – Ashland University
- 2021-22: Kim Stephens – Glenville State College
- 2020-21: Steve Gomez – Lubbock Christian University
- 2019-20: Molly Miller – Drury University
Division III
- 2022-23: Juli Fulks – Transylvania University
- 2021-22: Brian Morehouse – Hope College
- 2020-21: Brian Morehouse – Hope College
- 2019-20: Jill Pace – Tufts University
NAIA
- 2022-23: Courtney Boyd – Clarke University
- 2021-22: Jeff Hans – Thomas More College
- 2020-21: Kirsten Moore – Westmont College
- 2019-20: Chris Nelson – Bethel University
JUCO
- 2022-23: Mike Seney – CCBC Essex
- 2021-22: Trenia Tillis Hoard – Tyler Junior College
- 2020-21: No winner named – COVID season
- 2019-20: Cayla Petree – South Plains College
FastBreak PlayBook provides coaches with a database of plays drawn by professional and college level coaches with coaching points and player assignments. All plays are editable to fit your system or you can quickly draw your own with their custom-built play drawing tool. Additional features allow coaches to create practice schedules, scouting reports, as well as integrate and distribute video to their team directly with the mobile team app.
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