Following 25 years of leadership at the University of Mount Olive, Wendy Lee announced her retirement as the head women’s basketball coach following the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.
Lee led the program for a quarter century with the Trojans amassing 360 wins during her tenure, the most of any UMO women’s basketball coach in program history. She won a pair of Conference Carolinas Tournament Championships in 2008 and 2013, which secured two berths to the NCAA Tournament. Lee produced four 20-plus win campaigns at the helm and 14 winning seasons, including nine-straight from 2006-14.
“Mount Olive will forever hold a special place in my heart, especially the young ladies I have been honored to coach. Working at a strong Christian institution like UMO has been a true blessing in my life, and as I retire, I wish for its continued success,” said Lee. “To every coach, manager, and player I have worked with who has given so much to the University of Mount Olive and the Women’s Basketball Program, you are deeply appreciated beyond words. Also, I am forever grateful to my husband and family for their unwavering support through this journey… Once a Trojan, Always a Trojan!”
Lee mentored over 40 all-conference selections in her career, including three standouts who were inducted into the University of Mount Olive Athletics Hall of Fame. She coached a trio of Conference Carolinas Player of the Year honorees, with Jasmine Whitby garnering the honor in 2011 before Felecity Havens secured the accolade in back-to-back years (2018-19). Havens, a multi-time All-American, is the only player in program history to eclipse 2,000 career points, while scoring the most points in a single game with 49 at Francis Marion in 2018. Lee also coached a pair of Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year, including UMO Hall of Famer Tomeka Prichard. During her tenure, Havens and Tamara Nesmith both played professionally overseas in Europe.
In 2008, Mount Olive won the Conference Carolinas Championship and earned a bid to the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament for the first time in school history. The eighth-seeded Trojans stunned No. 1 seed and nationally 12th-ranked IUP in the first round of the East Regional to advance to the regional semifinal.
Lee guided Mount Olive to its second Conference Carolinas title in 2012-13, as the Trojans posted three consecutive tournament wins on the road against higher-seeded teams. No. 5 seed UMO upset top-seeded and nationally-ranked Limestone College in the semifinals and defeated third-seeded Pfeiffer in the championship game.
?”I want to thank Coach Wendy Lee for her contributions and dedication to the University of Mount Olive, both on and off the basketball court. She has always represented the University in a first-class manner and will always have a treasured place within our women’s basketball program,” said Director of Athletics Joey Higginbotham. “We thank Coach Lee for 25 years of service as the leader of our Women’s basketball program and for transforming many young women’s lives during her tenure. We wish her the best in her next phase of retirement. Once a Trojan, Always a Trojan.”
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