Story: AJ Nelson, Senior Staff Writer, WHoopDirt.com
BOSTON, MA – The following women’s college basketball coaches have been honored with the Week 3 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. Below, you’ll find the list of Week 3 recipients, along with a complete list of past Coach of the Year honorees.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The Week 3 winners are:
D1: Geno Auriemma – UConn
Coach Auriemma reached another milestone in his storied career this week, as he became the winningest coach in NCAA college basketball history with a victory on Wednesday. With over 60 alums in attendance, Auriemma’s 2nd-ranked Huskies secured the historic victory in an 85-41 blowout over Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday. The win moved Coach Auriemma’s record to an unbelievable 1,217-162 across 40 seasons with UConn, surpassing retired longtime Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer in career wins. The 11-time National Champion and 8-time Naismith Coach of the Year will lead his Huskies back into action on Monday evening, when UConn faces off against Oregon State at the Baha Mar Women’s Championship
NCAA D2: Danielle Fleming – PennWest Clarion
In her second year at the helm, Coach Fleming has led a complete turnaround of the Clarion women’s basketball program, highlighted by three more victories this week. The Golden Eagles defeated Lake Erie on the road on Tuesday, jumping out to a 19-point halftime lead in a 90-73 triumph. Clarion then returned home to open PSAC play on Friday, dominating Mansfield by a score of 89-62. Back in action the following day, the Golden Eagles rallied back from an eight-point deficit with just 1:14 remaining to force overtime, where they would pull out a 104-99 victory. Coach Fleming’s squad is now 6-1 (2-0 PSAC) after winning just one game last season. The six victories are the program’s most since winning nine games during the 2019-20 campaign. The Golden Eagles will look to continue their hot start when they travel to take on Ohio Dominican in a non-conference matchup on Sunday.
NCAA D3: Lindsay Schultz – Carroll University
Coach Schultz led Carroll to a pair of impressive victories this week, including one over a fellow top-25 opponent. Playing at the Hope College Tournament, the 21st-ranked Pioneers put on a defensive showcase in their opener on Friday, taking down Olivet 85-34. The win set up a showdown with the tournament hosts – No. 12 Hope College in the championship game on Saturday. In a back-and-forth affair, Carroll was able to come away with a hard-fought 80-75 victory in overtime. Now 4-1 on the season, the Pioneers will return to action on Tuesday, when they remain on the road against the University of Chicago.
NAIA: Hannah Moeller – Mid-American Christian University
With three more conference wins this week, Coach Moeller’s MACU squad remained unbeaten on the year. On Monday, the 24th-ranked Evangels recorded an NAIA-era (2007 – present) program record 34 offensive rebounds in an 86-73 triumph over Central Christian. Mid-America Christian’s next matchup came on the road against John Brown on Thursday. The Evangels trailed by two entering the fourth quarter, but outscored the hosts 21-10 in the period to take a 71-62 victory. MACU closed out the week with another dominant performance on the glass, out-rebounding the College of the Ozarks 64-26 on the way to a 67-56 win. Now 9-0 (5-0 SAC) on the campaign, the Evangels will hit the road to take on Langston on Tuesday evening.
JUCO: Austin Mefford – New Mexico Junior College
It was another perfect week for Coach Mefford’s Thunderbirds, as they won three more games to move to 10-0 on the season. New Mexico Junior College, ranked No. 2 in the latest NJCAA DI Women’s Top-25 Poll, opened the week with a ranked win, taking down #25 Snow College by a score of 74-56. The T-Birds then gave a pair of dominant defensive efforts over the weekend, as they defeated McCook Community College 64-38 on Friday and Otero College 94-37 on Saturday. NMJC has not allowed more than 59 points in any of its 10 games, and has held four opponents to under 40 points. Next up for the Thunderbirds is a home showdown with Cisco College on Monday, December 2nd.
Previous WHoopDirt.com / Pivot Analysis 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.
WHoopDirt.com is the largest website in the country dedicated specifically to women’s college basketball coaching news, jobs, and rumors at all levels. WHoopDirt.com brings a unique insider perspective to the world of college basketball coaching – it was founded by college coaches as a way to help the college basketball community stay informed of what is going on in the coaching profession.
