Top 5 Coaches Who Can Lead Their Team to NCAA Women’s Glory

A few coaches have created history with the roster given to them, and others have recruited a history-creating team. The art of honing raw talents and keeping team balances is a most peculiar skill. This is where the NCAA coaches outdo their WNBA counterparts.

In the ongoing college basketball season, the most crucial sub-text lies in the hands of the head coaches who curate the gameplay. The 2023 women’s basketball tournament is witnessing a few legendary figures of their time and the measures they’re taking to build their team and lead them toward glory.

Geno Auriemma Honors Legacy with UConn’s Dominance

Coach Auriemma does not just throw the ball to the athletes and tell them to play, he takes his time teaching them the game. He instructs and instills the ability to defeat the best. Both UConn women’s basketball and coach Auriemma have dominated the field for almost 30 years, winning 11 national championships and making 22 Final Four trips.

“What those 11 National Championships mean to me is how many great people have come through our program and how many great players I’ve had the opportunity to coach,” Auriemma stated in a press release.

Of course, attracting and nurturing exceptionally gifted athletes plays a big role in their success, but there is much more to it.

LSU Tiger’s Kim Mulkey screams success and money

Kimberly Duane Mulkey is the head coach of the Louisiana State University women’s basketball team. She became the first person in NCAA women’s basketball history to win a national championship as both a player and an assistant coach. She won a Pan-American basketball gold medal in 1983 and an Olympic gold medal in 1984. She won three NCAA titles as the coach of Baylor in 2005, 2012, and 2019, and LSU in 2023.

The LSU Board of Supervisors approved Kim Mulkey’s record 10-year, $36 million contract extension in 2020. She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000, followed by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame the following year. She is now the highest-paid coach in women’s basketball history, with the ink barely dry on the contract. It is also worth noting that she guided LSU to a national title in her second season as head coach.

Dawn Staley of USC strikes new heights in NCAA

Over the past few seasons, Dawn Staley, the coach of the University of South Carolina women’s basketball team, has had two equally important tasks: molding her core lineup of national winners and persuading her younger, equally brilliant prospects that their time will come.

This season, it has arrived much sooner than many had predicted. Following an outstanding first week in which they defeated two ranked opponents, Notre Dame and Maryland, the Gamecocks returned to the top of the national rankings.

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After securing the top recruiting class in 2019 thanks to Brea Beal, Zia Cooke, and Aliyah Boston, Staley persisted in surrounding herself with the top high school athletes.

Lisa Bluder is 3 games away from a career mark

The head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team is Lisa Bluder. She was the Drake Bulldogs’ and St. Ambrose University’s previous coach. She needs three more games to reach the 500-game milestone as a head coach.

Bluder is in her 24th year as the head women’s basketball coach at the University of Iowa and her 24th year overall. She is the all-time winningest coach in program history. The Hawkeyes have made 16 playoff trips in 17 seasons under her leadership, including bids to the NCAA Tournament in eight of the last ten. In 10 straight seasons, Iowa has made it to the postseason.

Cori Close climbing up the ladder with UCLA

Cori Rashel Close is currently the head coach of the UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team. She was hired in 2011. The team began the 2022–23 season with high expectations, as they had most of their core players from the previous year’s NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen team. The team is currently ranked No. 4 in the country and has won all three of its games this season.

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What are your thoughts on the above-mentioned coaches? If there is any prominent coach left out of the top tier of the 2023–24 NCAA, pour your ideas in the comment section.