Story: AJ Nelson, Senior Staff Writer, WHoopDirt.com
BOSTON, MA – The following women’s college basketball coaches have been honored with the Week 12 WHoopDirt.com Coach of the Week Award, presented by FastBreak PlayBook. These coaches are now eligible for the prestigious WHoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award, presented by FastBreak PlayBook, which will be announced at the conclusion of the 2024-25 college basketball season.
This year, WHoopDirt.com has partnered with FastBreak PlayBook to bring even more value to the Coach of the Week program. As part of the collaboration, each weekly winner will receive a complimentary Full-Team Annual Membership to the FastBreak PlayBook platform.
“FastBreak PlayBook is very excited to partner with WhoopDirt for the Coach of the Week Award. We are passionate about bringing a spotlight to deserving women’s basketball coaches and look forward to providing a free Full-Team Annual Membership to each winner.” – Kendall Acho, Chief Operating Officer
This marks the fifth season of WHoopDirt.com’s Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. The list of 2024-25 weekly winners, as well as the all-time COY recipients can be found below this week’s release.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The Week 12 winners are:
D1: Kevin McGuff – Ohio State University
Coach McGuff led Ohio State to a pair of huge conference wins over tough opponents this week. The then-12th ranked Buckeyes opened the week with a top-15 showdown, hosting No. 8 Maryland on Thursday. Ohio State trailed by seven at the halftime, but used a 15-0 third quarter run to pull in front and eventually come away with a 74-66 victory. The Buckeyes then hit the road for a matchup with Nebraska, who had received the most top-25 votes of any team not in the rankings this past week. Ohio State used another big third quarter to take control of the game and never looked back en route to a 72-66 win. Now 19-1 (8-1 Big 10) on the season, the Buckeyes jumped up to No. 8 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. They are back in action on Sunday when they host Washington.
NCAA D2: Courtney Boyd – Quincy University
Coach Boyd’s Hawks continued their dominant run in conference play this week, winning a trio of games by double-digits. Quincy jumped out to a 17-3 lead over Missouri-St. Louis on Monday, never looking back on the way to a 64-53 victory. The Hawks then closed out the week with two more impressive wins, defeating William Jewell 89-67 on Thursday and Truman State 82-69 on Saturday. The victories extended Quincy’s winning streak to eight, with the last seven all coming by double-digits. Now 14-5 (8-2 GLVC) on the campaign, the Hawks will look to stay hot when they hit the road to take on Southwest Baptist on Thursday.
NCAA D3: James Boney – Rutgers University-Camden
Coach Boney guided Rutgers-Camden to a pair of last-second victories this week, continuing the Scarlet Raptors’ best season in years. On Wednesday, Rutgers-Camden drilled two free throws with 10 seconds remaining to propel them to a 41-40 victory over Rutgers-Newark. Back in action on Saturday, the Scarlet Raptors trailed by two with five seconds remaining in overtime before a basket and a free throw sealed a 70-68 win. Now 8-10 (4-7 NJAC) on the season, Rutgers-Camden has already surpassed its combined win total from the previous four seasons combined (including 0-6 COVID year). The Scarlet Knights will look for their third straight win when they host Rowan on Wednesday.
NAIA: Rick Reeves – University of the Cumberlands
Coach Reeves’ Patriots picked up two hard-fought victories this week, including one over a top-10 opponent. On Thursday, No. 16 Cumberlands hosted 8th-ranked Georgetown in a battle of top-20 foes. The Patriots held off a late comeback attempt to come away an impressive 72-65 victory. They then closed out the week with a 71-59 triumph over Cumberland University on Saturday. Now 18-3 (4-1 MSC) on the campaign, the Patriots will look for their fifth consecutive victory when they host Lindsey Wilson on Thursday evening.
JUCO: Mitch Rolls – Chipola College
Despite the record snowfall in Florida postponing two of their games, Coach Rolls’ Lady Indians still found a way to have a huge week, taking down the top team in the nation. After a 10-day layoff due to the postponements, No. 6 Chipola hosted No. 1 Northwest Florida State on Saturday in a battle of unbeaten squads. Tied entering the fourth quarter, Chipola outscored Northwest Florida 24-14 over the final 10 minutes to come away with a huge 67-57 triumph. The victory moved the Lady Indians all the way up to No. 2 in the latest NJCAA DI Top-25 Poll. They will look to move to 22-0 when they travel to take on No. 8 Gulf Coast State on Wednesday.
2024-25 WHoopDirt.com / FastBreak PlayBook Coach of the Week Winners
Week 1
Early season – no winners selected.
NCAA DI: Kenny Brooks – University of Kentucky
NCAA DII: Buffie Burson – University of North Georgia
NCAA DIII: Laurie Kelly – Gustavus Adolphus College
NAIA: Bill Harmsen – Dordt University
JUCO: Mike Seney – CCBC Essex
NCAA DI: Geno Auriemma – UConn
NCAA DII: Danielle Fleming – PennWest Clarion
NCAA DIII: Lindsay Schultz – Carroll University
NAIA: Hannah Moeller – Mid-American Christian University
JUCO: Austin Mefford – New Mexico Junior College
NCAA DI: Kara Lawson – Duke University
NCAA DII: Rick Neumann – University of Mary
NCAA DIII: Mia Smith – Illinois Wesleyan University
NAIA: NaJarius Green – Columbia College
JUCO: John Ontjes – Hutchinson Community College
NCAA DI: Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
NCAA DII: Kari Kerkhoff – McKendree University
NCAA DIII: Meg Barber – New York University
NAIA: Adam Hocking – Clarke University
JUCO: Jamie Fisher – Florida SouthWestern State College
Week 6
NCAA DI: Vanessa Blair-Lewis – George Mason University
NCAA DII: Emry Tsitouris – Mars Hill University
NCAA DIII: Megan Phelps – Bowdoin College
NAIA: Alico Dunk – Stillman College
JUCO: Nate Beutel – SUNY Niagara
Week 7
Winter Break – No winners selected.
Week 8
Winter Break – No winners selected.
NCAA DI: Karen Aston – University of Texas at San Antonio
NCAA DII: John Bonner – California State University, Dominguez Hills
NCAA DIII: Katherine Auguste – Colorado College
NAIA: Carlotta Kloppenburg-Pruitt – Southern Oregon University
JUCO: Jessica Eaton – Florida State College at Jacksonville
NCAA DI: Charmin Smith – University of California, Berkeley
NCAA DII: Lisa Wilson – Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
NCAA DIII: Cheri Harrer – Baldwin-Wallace University
NAIA: Bo Browder – Xavier University of Louisiana
JUCO: Bart Walker – Northwest Florida State College
NCAA DI: Vernette Skeete – Texas Southern University
NCAA DII: Matt Houser – Columbus State University
NCAA DIII: Brad Fischer – University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
NAIA: Chris Vincent – Langston University
JUCO: Marbely Montas – Union College (NJ)
Previous Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 2022-23: Kenny Brooks – Virginia Tech University
- 2021-22: Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
- 2020-21: Adia Barnes – University of Arizona
- 2019-20: Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Division II
- 2022-23: Kari Pickens – Ashland University
- 2021-22: Kim Stephens – Glenville State College
- 2020-21: Steve Gomez – Lubbock Christian University
- 2019-20: Molly Miller – Drury University
Division III
- 2022-23: Juli Fulks – Transylvania University
- 2021-22: Brian Morehouse – Hope College
- 2020-21: Brian Morehouse – Hope College
- 2019-20: Jill Pace – Tufts University
NAIA
- 2022-23: Courtney Boyd – Clarke University
- 2021-22: Jeff Hans – Thomas More College
- 2020-21: Kirsten Moore – Westmont College
- 2019-20: Chris Nelson – Bethel University
JUCO
- 2022-23: Mike Seney – CCBC Essex
- 2021-22: Trenia Tillis Hoard – Tyler Junior College
- 2020-21: No winner named – COVID season
- 2019-20: Cayla Petree – South Plains College
FastBreak PlayBook provides coaches with a database of plays drawn by professional and college level coaches with coaching points and player assignments. All plays are editable to fit your system or you can quickly draw your own with their custom-built play drawing tool. Additional features allow coaches to create practice schedules, scouting reports, as well as integrate and distribute video to their team directly with the mobile team app.
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