2026 women's college basketball head coach firings, retirements

The women's college basketball regular season is over and the coaching carousel is spinning.

The 2025 offseason saw 61 programs make changes at head coach. If college football gives any indication, the 2026 coaching carousel could include even more changes. College athletics leaders were hesitant to make big changes last season with uncertainty around the House Settlement looming. Now, athletic directors have a sense of what the future holds.

Several programs will be moving on from their coaches in the annual rite of passage. Ten coaches have been let go and one announced in the fall that he'd be retiring at season's end.

With the Power 4 conference tournaments getting underway this Wednesday, here is where we stand on coaching openings in NCAA Division I:

NCAA Division I women's basketball coaching openings

Boston College

Joanna Bernabei-McNamee was fired on March 1 head coach of Boston College ’s women’s basketball team. Bernabei-McNamee had her worst season yet as the Eagles coach this year, going 5-25 overall and 1-17 in ACC play. What proved to be difficult for Bernabei-McNamee at Boston College was her ability to retain talented players in the transfer portal era. Many of the top players she recruited and developed went on to help other ACC programs.

Bethune Cookman

Janell Crayton Del Rosario was fired after five seasons on March 14 after going 49-102.

Denver

The Pioneers announced March 10 that it had “mutually parted ways” with Doshia Woods after six seasons. She went 57-116.

Florida

Florida  fired Kelly Rae Finley after the Gators missed the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season, the school announced on March 9. The Gators finished this season with an 18-15 record, 5-11 in SEC play and were eliminated in the second round of the SEC Tournament by Oklahoma . Florida had a five-game losing streak to open SEC play and in the non-conference portion of their schedule suffered to mid-majors Navy and Tulsa.

Fordham

Bridgette Mitchell was fired on March 16 after going 10-20 overall and 2-16 in conference play in her third season leading the Rams. In 12 years under previous head coach Stephanie Gaitley, Fordham had seven seasons of at least 20 wins and twice went to the NCAA Tournament. Mitchell went 27-52 in three seasons.

Georgia State

Gene Hill resigned on March 12 after eight seasons leading the Panthers. He had just one winning season during his tenure in Atlanta. Georgia State hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since going to three straight between 2001 and 2003.

Kansas City

Kansas City announced March 6 that it has parted ways with head coach Dionnah Jackson-Durrett. The former All-Big-12 selection at Oklahoma and WNBA Draft pick went 40-87 in four seasons leading the Roos. Jackson-Durrett previously worked as an assistant under Vic Schaefer at Texas and Mississippi State . Kansas City has never been to the NCAA Tournament, but had two seasons of at least 20 wins and won a Summit League title under former head coach Jacie Hoyt, who is now at Oklahoma State .

The Roos announced March 11 that they hired Candi Whitaker. She was previously the head coach at Kansas City from 2006 through 2012, and most recently was the head coach at North Alabama .

Jacksonville State

Rick Pietri announced his retirement on March 12 after 26 years as a head coach, including 13 with Jacksonville State where he guided them through three different conferences. Pietri won 417 games in his career, with 197 of those victories coming at Jacksonville State.

Kennesaw State

The Owls announced March 11 that they had fired Octavia Blue. Formerly a longtime assistant under Katie Meier at Miami, she went 61-89 in four seasons at Kennesaw State. The Owls have never been to the NCAA Tournament since moving up to Division I in 2005.

Kent State

Todd Starkey announced his resignation on March 16 to take an assistant coaching job at Arizona . On the same day, the Golden Flashes announced that assistant coach Fran Recchia would become the program's next head coach. Kent State went 179-127 in 10 seasons under Starkey and went to the NCAA Tournament in 2024.

Memphis

Memphis announced March 9 it had fired coach Alex Simmons after three seasons. The Tigers went 4-14 in American Conference play this season and missed the conference tournament. Simmons, 39, went 30-61 overall in three seasons at Memphis. She was previously the head coach at Gardner-Webb where she had four winning seasons in five years and guided the Runnin’ Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time ever in 2023.

New Mexico State

New Mexico State announced on March 8 it had parted ways with coach Jody Adams-Birch after four seasons. A starter for Pat Summitt on her 1991 national championship team at Tennessee , Adams-Birch was 58-72 in her tenure there. She won 18 games in a season twice, but the Aggies finished this year with a 9-21 record. New Mexico State has been to the NCAA Tournament six times, last making the trip in 2019.

The Aggies announced on March 11 that they hired Adeniyi Amadou as its next head coach. He was previously the associate head coach at Rhode Island .

Nevada

The Wolfpack announced Amanda Levens would not be returning as head coach on March 9. She had not had a winning season since 2022 and had an overall record of 168-229 in nine seasons.

North Alabama

This job opened on March 11 after Candi Whitaker left for the Kansas City opening. North Alabama transitioned to Division I in 2018 and haven't been to the NCAA Tournament yet.

North Carolina Central

NC Central parted ways with Terrence Baxter after his third season on March 16. He went 34-56. The Eagles have never made the NCAA Tournament since moving up to Division I in 2008 and have had just three seasons with a winning record in MEAC play.

Northwestern

Joe McKeown announced last March this season would be his last as coach at Northwestern. The 69-year-old has been a head coach in Division I women’s basketball for 40 years with previous stops at New Mexico State and George Washington . Knowing McKeown’s retirement is looming, Northwestern has been vetting candidates since January, multiple sources told USA Today Sports. Some of the best mid-major coaches in the country — from the Ivy League, Atlantic 10 and CAA — will be in the mix for this opening. Michigan native Carrie Moore, who won the Ivy with Harvard last season, is believed to be among the frontrunners.

Penn State

Nittany Lions ’ athletic director Pat Kraft announced March 5 that Carolyn Kieger had been relieved of her duties after missing the Big Ten Women’s Tournament for the second consecutive season. In seven years, she went 84-123 as Penn State’s head coach with zero trips to the NCAA Tournament. Kieger, 42, was hired at Penn State to replace Coquese Washington in 2019 after a successful run at Marquette where she won three Big East titles and won two NCAA Tournament games. But Kieger would go on to have one winning season, going 22-13 overall and 9-9 in Big Ten play in the 2023-24 season.

Pitt

Pitt fired Tony Verdi on March 3 morning following his third consecutive losing season. Verdi’s dismissal also comes just weeks after  six former Pitt players filed lawsuits against him  and the university in the U.S. District Court for Western Pennsylvania, alleging that he inflicted "emotional, psychological, and physical abuse" against the players and that he created a “hostile, discriminatory, and retaliatory environment." In three seasons, he went 29-65. His Panthers suffered losses to teams like Coppin State , Akron, Northern Iowa, Drexel and Lafayette. This season, Pitt lost a game to Division III Scranton.

Quinnipiac

After 31 years of coaching the Bobcats, Tricia Fabbri retired on March 16. She won 555 games while leading the program and took Quinnipiac to the NCAA Tournament five times. The Bobcats also won nine regular season conference titles under her watch and played in the WNIT five times.

Rutgers

Rutgers fired head coach Coquese Washington on March 2. Washington , 55, went 42-84 in four seasons with the Scarlet Knights , who never won more than five games in Big Ten play under her watch. This season’s 1-17 record in conference play was Rutgers’ worst in the Big Ten. The cash-strapped Scarlet Knights — who have  an athletics deficit of $516.9 million  since joining the Big Ten in 2014 — have had trouble competing at the top level of women’s basketball in this new landscape for college athletics.

A week after firing Washington, Rutgers announced on March 9 that it had hired Gary Redus II , who has been an assistant under Kim Mulkey at Baylor for the past four seasons.

Seattle

Seattle announced March 2 it was not renewing the contract of coach Skyler Young, who went 15-73 in three seasons. Since joining the Division I ranks in 2009, the Redhawks have been to the NCAA Tournament once, in 2018 under former coach Suzy Barcomb. Seattle left the WAC and joined the West Coast Conference last year.

Stetson

Longtime coach Lynn Bria announced on March 16 that she would resign after the Hatters finish their season with WNIT games. Previously the head coach at UCF and Ohio before taking the reins at Stetson in 2008, Bria has captured more than 470 victories in her career, with 318 of them coming with Stetson. She had 12 winning seasons in 18 years with the Hatters and twice took them to the NCAA Tournament.

St. Thomas

Longtime coach Ruth Sinn retired at the end of the season. She has more than 400 wins, won 10 conference titles in the Division III MIAC and oversaw the program's transition to the Division I Summit League five years ago.

Texas State

Zenarae Antoine resigned on March 9 after 15 seasons at the helm of the Bobcats. She was the 2023 Sun Belt Coach of the Year and had an overall record of 225-232.

UMass Lowell

The River Hawks and coach Jon Plefka mutually agreed to part ways after just one season in which the team went 8-21, it was announced on March 13.

VCU

Virginia Commonwealth University announced Beth O’Boyle's dismissal on Feb. 2. Rams assistant Kirk Crawford is serving as interim coach for the remainder of the season. O’Boyle had been the head coach at VCU for 12 seasons, with an overall record of 191-168, which made her the winningest coach in program history. VCU had a 26-win season in 2023-24, but went 12-19 last season and was 8-15 at the time of her firing.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2026 women's college basketball head coach firings, retirements