Tesla Southcott has been announced as the next Concord University women’s head basketball coach, Concord Director of Athletics Kevin Garrett announced Monday afternoon.
A native of nearby Princeton, and an assistant coach under the recently-retired Kenny Osborne for the previous eight seasons, Southcott is no stranger to the Concord women’s basketball program. With her guidance on the bench, she has helped the Mountain Lions climb to the top of the Mountain East Conference over the last five seasons.
Since the start of the 2017-18 season, CU has a record of 86-50 with only three other schools in the conference posting more wins over that time.
“I’d like to thank our president Dr. Kendra Boggess and Kevin Garrett for this opportunity,” Southcott said. “I would also like to thank Coach Osborne for taking a chance on me eight summers ago. I congratulate him on an outstanding run at Concord and on his retirement. In 2014, Coach allowed me to fulfill a lifelong dream that has brought me to this point.
“I’ve had a passion and love for Concord ever since I came to Coach Osborne’s camp as a nine-year old in 2000. My passion for CU and the game of basketball has allowed me some great fortunes in my lifetime and being the head coach of this great institution is at the top of the list,” she continued. “I look forward to carrying on the winning tradition that Coach Osborne has established over the last two decades and I know with the respect our program has earned, we will take everyone’s best shot on a nightly basis in the MEC.”
During Southcott’s time on the bench in Athens, Concord has had seven all-conference players with Riley Fitzwater and Madison May being selected to the all-region teams in three different seasons. And Fitzwater was twice named an All-American at CU under Southcott’s leadership.
Before retiring at the beginning of May, Osborne had six 20-wins seasons during his 22-year stint at Concord and Southcott was alongside for three of those 20-win campaigns (2018-19, 2019-20, 2021-22).
“I’ve had the pleasure of watching Coach Southcott and Coach Osborne build the women’s basketball program into one of the top contenders in the MEC,” Garrett said. “I have full confidence that she will continue the winning culture that has been established at CU. She’s had a great mentor to prepare her for this role, and I know she will continue to work extremely hard to keep Concord in the upper echelon of the conference.”
In addition to her duties on game day, Southcott served as Concord’s recruiting coordinator for the last eight seasons recruiting key players for CU’s success over the last half decade.
The local product was a standout at Princeton Senior High School from 2005-2009, and was inducted into the school’s hall of fame in 2016. She went on to have an outstanding playing career at Division III Ferrum College in Ferrum, Virginia. She was a 1,000-point scorer and helped the Panthers win 86 games over four years.
At the conclusion of her senior season in 2012-13, Southcott was a named Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association (WBCA) Division III Honorable Mention All-American.
She will become the seventh head coach in program history.
A formal press conference will be held to introduce Southcott 11:00 a.m. Wednesday in the Carter Center Mountain Lion Room. The press conference will be streamed at mountaineast.tv/concord.
https://cumountainlions.com/news/2022/5/23/southcott-named-head-womens-basketball-coach.aspx
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