The University of Pennsylvania head women’s basketball coach, Mike McLaughlin, has officially announced an addition to his staff for the upcoming season, naming Jim Ricci an assistant coach.
“I am extremely excited to welcome Jim Ricci to our coaching staff,” McLaughlin said. “Jim’s knowledge of the game combined with his years of experiences will be a huge asset to our program. He is a proven winner who, both as a head coach and assistant coach across both the high school and college levels, has played a major role in creating successful championship caliber programs. He is one of the best tacticians of the game and I look forward to witnessing the impact he will have on the growth of our players and our team.”
Ricci joins the Quakers after spending seven seasons with Division II University of the Sciences here in Philadelphia as an assistant coach. The Devils compiled a 168-48 record across his time there, qualifying for the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) tournament every year while winning five South Division titles and three CACC tournaments (2017, 18, and 22).
“I am so honored to join the Penn women’s basketball family,” Ricci said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to join an experienced staff led by one of the most successful head coaches in the country at one of the most prestigious universities in the world.”
They qualified for five straight NCAA tournaments from 2017-22, and the Devils were one of five DII teams to win a game in four of the tournaments. The team won its first-ever NCAA tournament game in 2016-17 before winning two in 2017-18 to advance to its first-ever Sweet 16 and East Region final.
In 2017-18, USciences set program records for wins (30), regular-season victories (25), win streak (18), CACC victories for a 19-game schedule (17), national ranking (No. 11), and regional ranking (No. 2). The Devils then tied or bested all those records in 2018-19, winning 30 games with 26 regular-season victories, 18 of which came in CACC play.
The Devils also finished top 10 in DII in three-pointers every season from 2016-18 to 2019-20.
Ricci came to USciences after spending nine years with the Archbishop Wood girls’ basketball program where he won three consecutive PIAA 3A state titles from 2010-12. He accumulated a 152-48 record and was voted Coach of the Year by the AP writers of Pennsylvania twice. Through his nine years, 21 of his players went on to play at the college level including Penn’s Assistant Recruiting Coordinator, Ashley Robinson, who played at nearby Saint Joseph’s.
Ricci is a Philadelphia native, graduating from Father Judge High School before earning a degree at La Salle.
