After one of the most successful seasons for the Tennessee Tech women’s basketball team with an Ohio Valley Conference championship and a victory in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, Kim Rosamond has certainly cemented a place for herself in the program’s history.
She’ll get the opportunity to add to her legacy in Cookeville as Rosamond received a five-year contract extension through the end of the 2027-28 campaign, as announced today by Tennessee Tech Director of Athletics Mark Wilson.
“Kim Rosamond has had a vision for the Tennessee Tech women’s basketball program since the day she first walked into the Hooper Eblen Center,” Wilson said. “Her determination, her commitment to Golden Eagle basketball has been tremendous and the results speak for themselves. As the team continues to build on its legacy, Coach Rosamond’s teams have brought the University and the community together in support and I truly believe what she has built over these last few years is only the beginning.”
Through her first seven seasons in an incredibly tradition-rich program, and following in the footsteps of legendary Tech coaches Marynell Meadors and Bill Worrell, Rosamond has more than just maintained the tradition, adding new chapters to the legacy.
“I am extremely grateful to Dr. (Phil) Oldham and Mark for their unwavering belief and support,” Rosamond said. “Their leadership and commitment have helped our staff re-establish Tennessee Tech women’s basketball as a championship program, and we would not have achieved the level of success we have enjoyed over the last five seasons without their support.”
The last five seasons for the Golden Eagles have been impressive, putting together a .640 winning percentage in that span with a 96-53 record – an average of 19.2 wins per season — to help turn around the Tech women’s basketball program. That span also included guiding the team through the COVID-19 pandemic and continuing to build a successful program on and off the court.
“Our success is a direct reflection of the incredible young women who play in this program as well as the outstanding coaches who have been by my side,” Rosamond said. “The people make the place, and I am fortunate to work with the best of the best every day. We look forward to the opportunity to continue to add to the tradition of excellence that is TTU women’s basketball.”
The hard work broke through in 2022-23 as the Golden Eagles battled through the OVC for a third-place regular-season finish, then improved on that in the conference tournament as Tech topped SIUE 76-62 in the quarterfinals, rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Eastern Illinois 66-61 in the semis, then knocked off OVC regular-season champ Little Rock – who had only lost once during the conference campaign – 54-46 to claim the Golden Eagles’ first tournament championship – and 10th all-time — and first NCAA appearance since 2000.
Ending that 23-year drought, the Tech women’s basketball team ended another one as the Golden Eagles defeated Monmouth 79-69 in their NCAA First Four matchup, winning their first NCAA contest since 1990 – the fourth all-time for the Golden Eagles and eighth for the entire Ohio Valley Conference (Tech over Southern Miss in 1987, South Carolina in 1989, Richmond in 1990 and Monmouth in 2023, Belmont over Gonzaga in 2021 and Oregon in 2022, and Middle Tennessee over Jackson State in 1983 and South Carolina in 1986.)
After that victory, Tech took on No. 1-seed Indiana and stood toe-to-toe with a 22-22 score nearly midway in the second quarter. While the game got away from the Golden Eagles, Tech did show themselves as capable and with room to grow.
2022-23 was the high point, but it started rolling with an incredible run in 2018-19 as the Golden Eagles produced the third-best turnaround in NCAA women’s basketball as the team rebounded from a 7-22 mark in 2017-18. Along the way, Tech defeated Middle Tennessee for the first time since 2004 and snapped Belmont’s 47-game OVC winning streak on the Bruins’ home court. Rosamond was named Coach of the Year that season by both the OVC and the Tennessee Sports Writers Association.
During Rosamond’s watch, the Golden Eagles have earned 13 total All-Ohio Valley Conference selections shared between Kesha Brady, Jordan Brock, Mackenzie Coleman, Jada Guinn, Yaktavia Hickson, Anna Jones, Maaliya Owens and Anna Walker, and six OVC All-Tournament nods for Guinn, Kiera Hill, Jones, Owens and Walker. She has also seen records fall as Brock became the program’s career 3-point leader, Anacia Wilkinson became the program’s career blocks leader and Owens became the program’s single-season 3-point record holder this past season.
In her tenure, Rosamond earned the program’s 1,000th victory on Dec. 29, 2022, at SIUE, to become the 20th NCAA Division I women’s team to reach the milestone. She then reached her own personal mark at the next game on Dec. 31, 2022, at Lindenwood, as she won her 100th game as a head coach. The program reached 1,016 wins at the close of the season, 115 with Rosamond as the head coach.
Academically, the Tech women exceed as well, landing in the WBCA’s Academic Top 25 after the 2021-22 campaign and earning an honorable mention in 2022-23. The team has continued to record their highest grade-point averages in history, including a 3.7 mark in Spring 2020. The team also has a perfect 100-percent graduation rate over the last six seasons.
Along the way, Tech women’s basketball has been winning the right way as the team has received three OVC Team Sportsmanship Awards, a big part to leading Tennessee Tech to the 2023 Institutional Sportsmanship Award.
With that, Rosamond continues to bring in incredible talent for the Tech roster for the future, adding in Vanderbilt graduate transfer Yaubryon Chambers, Division III national champion Maddie Kellione and promising freshman Megan Aulbert. With those newcomers along with a talented core of returnees, the future continues to look bright for Tennessee Tech women’s basketball.
Named the sixth head coach in program history on March 31, 2016, Rosamond came to Tech after a successful nine-year run as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Vanderbilt head coach Melanie Balcomb, the program’s all-time winningest coach. The Commodores earned seven NCAA tournament appearances – including two Sweet 16 appearances – as well as a Southeastern Conference championship.
Prior to her time in Nashville, Rosamond was on Stephany Smith’s staff at Middle Tennessee and was a part of two championship teams and two NCAA tournament victories between 2003 and 2005.
A 1998 graduate from Ole Miss, Rosamond played three seasons for legendary women’s basketball coach Van Chancellor, a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. She then remained as an assistant coach and served on Ron Aldy’s staff for five seasons.
Story Courtesy | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
Tagged with: OVC
