Suggested list for the Friar's WBB Head Coach

[TheInfoMan]

This is a list that I've put together, so it is far from anything official.
I would be interested in responses and/or additional names.
High Major positions now open include: PC, Cincinnati, Xavier, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, TCU.
Here's my back-of-the-envelope list in no order which should be updated as NCAA bids are announced.

Most likely to be considered:
Tori Verdi (UMass) A10 This Season: 26-6, Last 4 seasons: 88-32 (73.3%) NCAA in 2022.
Tammi Reiss (URI) A10 This Season 24-6, Last 4 Seasons: 70-37 (65.4%) WNIT in 2022.
Amy Mallon (Drexel) Colonial This Season 21-8, Last 4 Seasons: 63-23 (72.3%) NCAA 2021, WNIT in 2022.
Sean O'Regan (James Madison) Sun Belt This Season 26-7, Last 4 Seasons: 79-36 (68.7%)
Casey Green (Liberty) A-Sun This Season 24-7, Last 4 Seasons: 91-31 (74.5%)

Less likely to be in the running:
Jose Fernandez (South Florida) American This Season 26-6, Last 4 Seasons: 86-32 (72.9%) NCAA 2021, 2022.
Angelika Szumilo (Fairleigh Dickenson) NEC This Season 24-6, Last 4 Seasons: 72-433 (62.6%)
Aaron Johnson (So. Dakota St.) Summit This Season 28-5, Last 4 Seasons: 101-28 (78.3%) NCAA 2021, 2022, 2023. (12) straight 20+ win seasons.

Who do you like?
Who would you add or subtract?

[thefriarman]

No way Reiss leaves URI for PC

[TheInfoMan]

Mar 10, 2023 18:46:31 GMT -5 thefriarman said:

No way Reiss leaves URI for PC

Why? I just figured the BE was a step up from the A10, just as Crowley did. That's my only reasoning.

[johnnypc]

Crowley back to the Bonnies.

[bostonfriar]

URI coach has a VERY large buyout.
Cowley was paid to go.

Looking for head coaching experience....IMO a Keno level path....wait too long and make another mistake because what proven coach would take a job after decades of failure?

[TheInfoMan]

Here's an article re: Pitt's search for a new WBB head coach. I would venture to guess there may be some overlap between Pitt's list & ours.Toledo head coach Tricia Cullop and George Washington head coach Caroline McCombs are introduced here as new names. But like Pitt, we may want to see who else might become available as teams lose in the NCAA tournament.
pittsburghsportsnow.com/2023/03/14/pitt-womens-basketball-coaching-search-update/

UMass head coach Tory Verdi, Toledo head coach Tricia Cullop and George Washington head coach Caroline McCombs have all interviewed with Pitt once and will get interviews when Pitt advances to the second round. Another person that interviewed for the job was Marquette head coach Megan Duffy, but it’s not clear if she’ll talk with Lyke again.

Verdi has been head coach at UMass since 2016 and has 25 years of experience has both a collegiate and professional coach. Verdi coached teams have advanced to postseason play 16 of the last 21 seasons since 2001-02. Prior to his time at UMass, Verdi was head coach at Eastern Michigan, where he worked for Lyke.

Cullop, 51, has been the head coach at Toledo since 2008. Prior to that, she was head coach at Evansville for eight seasons. Her overall record as a head coach is 419-268 (.610). Cullop has won three MAC championships at Toledo, made it to the NCAA Tournament once and the WNIT eight times, including winning it n 2011.

McCombs became the head coach at George Washington in April 2021. Prior to that, McCombs was the leader of the Stony Brook program, where she led the Seawolves to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021. In seven years at Stony Brook, McCombs won 130 games. Prior to becoming a head coach, McCombs was an assistant coach, including at Pitt from 2005-10.

Despite having interviewed these candidates, our source tells us that a decision on [former Pitt coach] White’s replacement isn’t considered imminent. Lyke [Pitt AD] may want to see who else might become available as teams lose in the NCAA tournament.

The Pitt program just finished its eighth consecutive losing season and Lyke made the decision to start over after White’s teams went 42-99 overall and 11-75 in conference play during his tenure.

[TheInfoMan]

The above article re: Pitt referenced Chloe Pavlech who is currently an assistant for the Baylor WBB program. She was listed as one of the "Top 40 under 40 people in Women's Basketball. While being a little short of basketball coaching experience, she is interesting for three reasons:
1) She was the Lead Content Strategist for OvertimeWBB, which became the first women’s sports account to reach 1 million followers on TikTok. OvertimeWBB boasts the largest women’s basketball media account on Instagram. I would guess potential recruits know of her.
2) She has NE roots, as she was a graduate asst. coach at UConn 2016-18.
3) As a G/A Coach, she recruited and organized male practice players, assisted with student-athlete development and provided support to the coaching staff for practice and game strategies.

I suspect she needs to fill out her resume a bit more for a High Major program, but worth mentioning nevertheless.