Rodney Rogan Named Rhodes Head Women’s Basketball Coach

Rhodes College Director of Athletics, Matt Dean, has announced the hiring of Rodney Rogan as Rhodes’ next head women’s basketball coach. Rogan becomes the sixth head coach in women’s basketball history for the Lynx.

Rogan, previously an opponent of the Lynx as a student-athlete, comes to Rhodes after six years as an assistant coach for NCAA Division I University of Nebraska Omaha women’s basketball.

“I am thrilled to announce we have hired Rodney Rogan as our next head women’s basketball coach,” said Dean. “Rodney is the perfect coach to lead our young team at this moment. He was a great player in our league at Millsaps, led his team to the Elite 8 in 2008 and I think he will become a star in our industry.”

“It’s a privilege to lead Rhodes women’s basketball,” said Rogan. “I’m appreciative of this opportunity and the trust that Dr. Hass and Coach Dean have shown throughout this process.”

While at Omaha, Rogan’s duties included scouting, recruiting, on-court instruction as well as oversight of compliance and academics. His on-court instruction mainly focused on forwards which saw two of Omaha’s top forwards make marks in conference and school history. One Maverick was named to the 2017 Summit League Newcomer Team. The other was the only athlete to rank in the top five in conference in points, rebounds, assists and field goals made and she also became UNO’s second all-time leading scorer.

“A major priority will be recruiting and developing strong student-athletes who fit the vision of Rhodes College,” stated Rogan. “Rhodes is the preeminent choice for young women who want to excel in academics and athletics. Our student-athletes will be active in the campus community as well as the Memphis area.”

An NCAA Division III student-athlete for Millsaps College, Rogan was an opponent of the Lynx in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. After his graduation, Rogan returned to his alma mater and spent three years as an assistant coach for the Majors men’s basketball team.

Rogan was a four-year starting forward at Millsaps from 2004-2008, and in his senior year, he led the Majors to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Division III Tournament and a school-record 28 wins. He was inducted into the Majors Hall of Fame in 2018 alongside the rest of the members of the 2007-08 men’s basketball team.

During nine years as an assistant coach for both men’s and women’s basketball programs, Rogan has helped coach four student-athletes named to All-Newcomer teams, one CoSIDA Academic All-American, a conference Defensive Player of the Year and over six All-Conference honorees.

“Our program will build on the recent success of making the NCAA Tournament and winning the SAA Tournament,” said Rogan. “We’ll play an exciting brand of basketball that will garner the attention of Lynx fans. I’m just ready to get going and start working with the team as soon as possible. That first day of practice will be here before we know it.”

The 2018-19 Lynx women’s basketball team went 17-12, winning the SAA Tournament Championship for their fourth NCAA appearance in program history. It was the first time for Rhodes to make an NCAA postseason appearance since 2015. Rhodes has won four SAA Tournament championships in the conference’s seven-year history.

Rogan replaces Lauren Avant Sumski ’14, who is now the head coach at NCAA Division I Lipscomb University.

https://rhodeslynx.com/news/2019/6/12/rodney-rogan-named-rhodes-head-womens-basketball-coach.aspx