Story: AJ Nelson, Senior Staff Writer, WHoopDirt.com
BOSTON, MA – The following women’s college basketball coaches have been honored with the Week 10 WHoopDirt.com Coach of the Week Award, presented by Just Play Solutions. These coaches are now eligible for the WHoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award, presented by Just Play Solutions, which will be announced at the conclusion of the 2025-26 college basketball season.
This marks the sixth season of WHoopDirt.com’s Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. This week’s winners are listed below, followed by all previous weekly honorees from earlier in the season.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The Week 10 winners are:
NCAA D1: Jan Jensen – University of Iowa
Coach Jenson’s Hawkeyes continued their perfect start to conference play this past week, taking down a pair of fellow ranked opponents to improve to 9-0 in the Big 10. Then-No. 10 Iowa began its week on Thursday at then-No. 15 Maryland, picking up an 85-78 overtime victory after a Maryland three at the buzzer in regulation forced the extra period. Back at home on Sunday, the Hawkeyes knocked off then-No. 12 Ohio State 91-70 to extend their winning streak to eight. Iowa had defeated then-No. 15 Michigan State in their last game of the previous week, so the Ohio State win marked the first time in program history that Iowa beat three AP Top 25 teams in three consecutive games. The Hawkeyes’ 9-0 start in Big 10 play is their best since the 1995-96 campaign. Now ranked eighth in the latest Top 25 poll, Iowa will head out to the west coast for matchups with USC and No. 2 UCLA on January 29 and February 1.
NCAA D2: Danielle Fleming – PennWest Clarion
Coach Fleming’s Clarion squad picked up a historic win this past week, taking down a top-10 opponent for the first time in over 25 years. The Golden Eagles’ only had one game on the docket for the week – a matchup against No. 7 Indiana (PA), which had defeated Clarion 15 consecutive times dating back to January of 2017. In a tightly-contested battle that featured 19 lead changes and 12 ties, Clarion was able to eke out a 78-77 victory and hand the visitors their first loss of the season. With the win, the Golden Eagles improved to 11-6 (6-5 PSAC) on the season. They will look to ride the momentum of the huge victory into Wednesday’s road matchup with Gannon.
NCAA D3: Ben O’Brien – University of Scranton
Coach O’Brien’s Lady Royals continued their season-long run of dominance this past week, picking up their seventh and eighth 40+ point wins in just 17 games. No. 2 Scranton played both of its matchups on the road this week, beginning with an 80-28 victory over Wilkes on Wednesday. The Lady Royals held the hosts to just 7-40 (17.5%) from the field in the blowout win. Returning to the floor on Friday, Scranton jumped out to a 51-14 halftime lead over Goucher before coming away with a 93-46 victory. Now 17-0 (10-0 Landmark) on the season, the Lady Royals have won all but one of their contests by double-digits. They will look to keep it rolling when they return home to host Drew on Wednesday night.
NAIA: Jamarra Robinson – Stillman College
An impressive trio of wins this past week have Coach Robinson’s Stillman squad in position to challenge for the HBCUAC East regular season title. The Tigers began their week by holding Oakwood, who entered the matchup unbeaten in conference play, to just 14 second half points in a 52-42 victory on Tuesday. Back in action on Thursday, Stillman jumped out to an early lead over Voorhees and never looked back, coming away with a 75-49 triumph. The Tigers then hosted the History Meets Hardwood Classic against rival Talladega on Saturday afternoon. Stillman trailed by a point entering the fourth quarter, but used a strong final 10 minutes to pick up a 62-56 victory. With the wins, the Tigers improved to 10-7 overall and 7-2 in the HBCUAC – good for second in the conference’s East Division and third overall. They will close out their four-game homestand with a matchup against Fisk on Thursday evening.
JUCO: Marvin Evans – Harford Community College
Coach Evans’ complete turnaround of the Harford program has continued into his second season, as his Fighting Owls picked up two more victories this past week to extend their winning streak to nine. On Wednesday, Harford used a dominant 33-10 third quarter to pull away from Chesapeake and eventually take an 82-76 triumph. Returning to action on Friday, the Fighting Owls put on a strong defensive performance despite a tough shooting night, taking down Howard Community College 57-53. After a 4-5 start to the season, Harford is now 13-5 (11-2 MD JUCO). The program had won 16 games in the three seasons prior to Coach Evans’ arrival. In the less than two full seasons that Evans has been leading the program, the Fighting Owls have gone 29-19. They will look to make it 10 straight wins when they host Allegany on Friday evening.
2025-26 WHoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
NCAA DII: Tim Kirby – Harding University
NCAA DIII: Melissa Smeltzer-Kraft – Shenandoah University
NAIA: Bill Harmsen – Dordt University
JUCO: Jaleel Taylor – Union College (NJ)
NCAA DI: Vic Schaefer – University of Texas
NCAA DII: Johnette Walker – Newberry College
NCAA DIII: Meg Barber – New York University
NAIA: DeWayne Burroughs – Shawnee State University
JUCO: Nicole Collier – State Fair Community College
NCAA DI: Molly Miller – Arizona State University
NCAA DII: Tasha Diesselhorst – Northwestern Oklahoma State University
NCAA DIII: Megan Phelps – Bowdoin College
NAIA: DeWitt Mandley – Wiley University
JUCO: Damel Ling – Monroe University – Bronx
NCAA DI: Linda Cimino – Dartmouth College
NCAA DII: Travis Ponton – Queens College
NCAA DIII: Julie Prichett – Brandeis University
NAIA: David Moe – Dakota State University
JUCO: Madonna Thompson – Shelton State Community College
NCAA DI: Krista Gerlich – Texas Tech University
NCAA DII: Heather Macy – Nova Southeastern University
NCAA DIII: Gabby Holko – Susquehanna University
NAIA: Suntana Anderson – Marian University (IN)
JUCO: Mitch Rolls – Chipola College
Week 6
Winter Break – No Winners Selected
Week 7
Winter Break – No Winners Selected
NCAA DI: Greg Todd – Eastern Kentucky University
NCAA DII: Emry Tsitouris – Lenoir-Rhyne University
NCAA DIII: Alison Montgomery – Bates College
NAIA: Abby Stutts – Freed-Hardeman University
JUCO: Chelsea Waters – Tallahassee State College
NCAA DI: Destinee Rogers – Arkansas State University
NCAA DII: Emilee Thiesse – Minnesota State University, Mankato
NCAA DIII: Maureen Hirt – Denison University
NAIA: Jessica Garriga – William Carey University
JUCO: Chelsey Warburton – Utah State University Eastern
