Story: AJ Nelson, Senior Staff Writer, WHoopDirt.com
BOSTON, MA – The following women’s college basketball coaches have been honored with the Week 2 WHoopDirt.com Coach of the Week Award, presented by Just Play Solutions. These coaches are now eligible for the WHoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award, presented by Just Play Solutions, which will be announced at the conclusion of the 2025-26 college basketball season.
This marks the sixth season of WHoopDirt.com’s Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. This week’s winners are listed below, followed by all previous weekly honorees from earlier in the season.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The Week 2 winners are:
NCAA D1: Vic Schaefer – University of Texas
Coach Schaefer had one of the best two-day stretches a coach could ask for this past week, recording a milestone victory and taking down two of the top three teams in the country. Schaefer’s then-No. 4 Longhorns spent Thanksgiving Week in Las Vegas at the Players Era Championship, where they opened play with a matchup against then-3rd ranked UCLA. Texas jumped out to a 20-point halftime lead and held off a fourth quarter comeback attempt to pick up a 76-65 win. The victory marked Coach Schaefer’s 150th with Texas – after winning two more games later in the week, he has compiled a record of 152-36 in his five-plus seasons with the Longhorns. The milestone win set up a showdown with then-No. 2 South Carolina in the Players Era Championship title game on Thanksgiving night. After South Carolina tied the game on a pair of free throws with 15 seconds remaining, Texas graduate student Rori Harmon, who had set the program record for career assists earlier in the game, knocked down a jumper with one second left to propel the Longhorns to a thrilling 66-64 victory. Following the huge wins, Texas returned home to host Penn on Sunday afternoon, picking up an 81-63 triumph to remain perfect on the season. The Longhorns’ big week resulted in a jump to No. 2 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. They have another tough matchup on the docket, as they host No. 11 North Carolina in the ACC/SEC Challenge in their next contest on Thursday.
NCAA D2: Johnette Walker – Newberry College
With another pair of wins this week, Coach Walker’s Wolves continued their unbeaten start to the season. Newberry began its week on the road, holding Erskine to just 29.3% from the field en route to a 68-57 victory. Back in action after Thanksgiving, the Wolves forced 21 turnovers in a hard-fought 65-61 win over Livingstone. Newberry closes out their non-conference schedule with a perfect record of 6-0. In her second season at the helm, Coach Walker has already matched last season’s win total. Her Wolves will open SAC play on the road at Mars Hill on Wednesday evening.
NCAA D3: Meg Barber – New York University
Coach Barber’s Violets extended their historic winning streak in dominant fashion this week, picking up three victories by a combined 185 points. Top-ranked NYU took a 63-10 lead into the half against John Jay on Monday, eventually coming away with a 114-34 win. The Violets forced 42 turnovers and had six different players record at least three steals in the victory. NYU was then idle until Saturday, when they made the short trip to Brooklyn for the Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial Tournament hosted by Medgar Evers College. Facing Colby-Sawyer in the tournament’s opener on Saturday, the Violets kept up their defensive intensity, forcing 52 turnovers in a 115-42 win. The victory set up a matchup with the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Sunday. After 40 more forced turnovers, NYU claimed the tournament title with a 102-70 triumph. The trio of wins pushed the Violets’ win streak to 69 consecutive games, surpassing Amherst College for the second-longest streak in NCAA DIII history. They will look to make it 70 in a row when they host Brooklyn College on Saturday, December 13th.
NAIA: DeWayne Burroughs – Shawnee State University
Coach Burroughs’ squad is coming off a successful weekend road trip, winning a pair of games, including one over a ranked opponent, down in Florida. On Saturday, the Bears, who received votes in the most recent NAIA Top 25 Poll, used a 27-6 second quarter to pull away from Warner and eventually pick up a 62-50 victory. Shawnee State was back in action the next day, facing off against a Southeastern University squad that was ranked No. 23 in the latest poll and entered the matchup unbeaten. Despite a late charge that saw Southeastern erase a 14-point deficit and actually take a one-point lead, the Bears were able to hang on for a hard-fought 66-64 win thanks to go-ahead layup with just three seconds remaining. The schedule doesn’t get any easier for Shawnee State, as they will return home to host No. 19 University of the Cumberlands on Thursday.
JUCO: Nicole Collier – State Fair Community College
Coach Collier’s State Fair Community College squad continued their climb up the NJCAA DI rankings, picking up two more wins to remain perfect on the season. The then-17th ranked Lady Roadrunners held their Thanksgiving Classic this past week, hosting then-No. 22 Northeastern Oklahoma A&M on Friday. SFCC was able to pull out a 56-54 victory in a back-and-forth defensive battle, outrebounding the visitors 43-28. The Lady Roadrunners picked up a far less stressful victory the following day, defeating Iowa Western Community College by a score of 86-48. After opening the season ranked No. 20 and reaching No. 17 last week, the Lady Roadrunners now find themselves ranked 16th in the most recent NJCAA DI rankings. They will look to improve to 13-0 when they visit Southeast Community College on Tuesday evening.
2025-26 WHoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
NCAA DII: Tim Kirby – Harding University
NCAA DIII: Melissa Smeltzer-Kraft – Shenandoah University
NAIA: Bill Harmsen – Dordt University
JUCO: Jaleel Taylor – Union College (NJ)
