University of Massachusetts head women’s basketball coach Tory Verdi has been extended through the 2026-27 season, Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford announced on Tuesday afternoon. The new five-year contract comes after a season where the Minutewomen won the Atlantic 10 Championship for the first time in program history.
“We are pleased to extend Coach Verdi in recognition of his continued achievements since arriving at UMass in 2016,” said Bamford. “The future is bright under his leadership. Due to the solid foundation he and his staff have built, our women’s basketball program is poised to contend for championships and excel in the classroom well into the future.”
Verdi led the Minutewomen on a postseason run to the Atlantic 10 Championship game, earning the program’s first ever title, in 2021-22, to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998. The team finished as the conference’s top scoring offense and received votes in a national poll for the first time since the 1994-95 season, tabbing a vote five times throughout the year.
“It’s an honor to be the head women’s basketball coach here at the University of Massachusetts,” said Verdi. “I am so very thankful and proud of all our accomplishments the last six years. We have finally built a championship caliber program. Winning championships and having the successes that we have had both on and off the court is a true testament to the coaches and players that we have in our program. We made history and plan on making more. Last year was truly special, as it was coined the best season in the history of the program, and I appreciate Ryan Bamford for acknowledging those successes.”
Verdi led the Minutewomen on a postseason run to the Atlantic 10 Championship game and the Women’s NIT in 2020-21, where they won the WNIT Consolation Final. The team finished as at the top of the A-10’s leaderboard in scoring offense and earned a Top 100 NET ranking on their way to earning the program’s first postseason appearance since 1998.
In 2019-20, Verdi’s team tied a program record with 20 wins and set a new UMass mark with an 11-game winning streak to finish fourth in the A-10, the highest under the league’s current format. The Minutewomen hosted and won an A-10 Tournament game at the Mullins Center for the first time in 22 years on their way to the quarterfinals.
“I want to thank Ryan Bamford and Kirsten Britton for their leadership and confidence in me and my staff,” said Verdi. “A huge thank you to our current and former student-athletes for their dedication to our goal of building and sustaining a championship caliber program.”
During his six seasons in Amherst, Verdi’s teams have seen a rise in their winning percentage each season as the Minutewomen capped off his sixth year at the helm with a 26-7 record, marking the most wins in program history. Verdi has coached four first or second-team all-conference selections, and the program’s first A-10 Player of the Year, while off the court the Minutewomen have posted their highest academic marks since 2005-06.
