2026 women’s basketball coaching candidates: Who are the hot names?

As March Madness approaches, so does the coaching carousel for the women’s college basketball season.

The sport already has two openings as of early February, with Joe McKeown’s retirement looming at Northwestern and Beth O’Boyle being fired at VCU.

Last season, there were more than 60 head coaching changes in Division I women’s college basketball. This year, there could be more. Multiple sources indicated to USA TODAY Sports that some athletic directors were hesitant to make changes a year ago because of the uncertainty around the House Settlement and how it might impact budgets. Obviously, much more is known now.

As the spin cycle begins for coaches in 2026, these are the names fans should get familiar with as searches get underway.

Mid-major leaders who could move up

Women’s basketball fans are likely already familiar with George Mason’s Vanessa Blair-Lewis, Richmond’s Aaron Roussell and Fairfield’s Carly Thibault-DuDonis — coaches who have built mid-majors up into NCAA Tournament contenders, developing a knack for knocking off Power 4 teams in non-conference play. The three of them will undoubtedly get calls about bigger jobs this spring.

Here’s some other rising mid-major coaches to know:

Destinee Rogers, Arkansas State

The Red Wolves made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history under Rogers last season, winning the Sun Belt tournament. This season, Rogers has Arkansas State on track to make it again, and probably get a better seed, at 20-5 in the top 85 of NET and WAB — better than the Arkansas Razorbacks in the SEC. At 36 years old, Rogers should be viewed as one of the top young head coaches in the sport.

Lindsay Edmonds, Rice

Edmonds has never had a losing record in five seasons at Rice, her first stop as a head coach after spending eight seasons as an assistant at NC State. The Owls went to the NCAA Tournament in 2024, their first year in the American. This season, Rice is 10-0 in the American and 20-3 overall and likely headed back to the Big Dance. The native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has roots in the ACC’s footprint, as a graduate of App State. She also coached at James Madison under Kenny Brooks and at NC State under Wes Moore.

Ayla Guzzardo, McNeese State

Before coming to McNeese, Guzzardo was the head coach at Southeastern Louisiana where she guided the Lions to their only NCAA Tournament appearance and conference championships in program history. This season, her first at McNeese, the Cowgirls are 20-4 overall and 14-1 in Southland play — already their second-best record in conference games in program history. Simply put, Guzzardo has won big at places where doing so is incredibly rare. If McNeese goes to the NCAA Tournament, it could be a quick stepping stone to a bigger gig.

Southeastern Louisiana head coach Ayla Guzzardo’s success could lead to a level up.

Jory Collins, North Dakota State

If the season ended today and North Dakota State didn’t win the Summit League tournament, the Bison would be in position to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. That’s how good they’ve been under Collins, with a 22-2 record. It would be NDSU’s first March Madness appearance since jumping up to Division I two decades ago. Collins was previously an assistant at Kansas and head coach at Division II Emporia State, where he went to six NCAA Tournaments — and a Final Four — in seven seasons while racking up nearly 200 wins.

Alisa Kresge, Vermont

The Catamounts are 20-6 and 9-2 in America East play, eyeing what would be their third NCAA Tournament appearance in the past four seasons under Kresge. A native of New Jersey and graduate of Marist — where she’s the program’s all-time leader in assists — Kresge got the Vermont job in 2018. This will be the fifth straight season the Catamounts have won at least 20 games, the longest streak in program history.

Others to watch: Erin Dickerson-Davis (William & Mary), Ashton Feldhaus (Morehead State), Ty Grace (Howard), Megan Griffith (Columbia), Neil Harrow (Long Island), Kim McNeil (East Carolina), Michael Meek (Portland), Carrie Moore (Harvard), Loree Payne (Santa Clara), Tammi Reiss (Rhode Island), Chanda Rigby (Troy), Kim Rosamond (Tennessee Tech), Greg Todd (Eastern Kentucky)

Assistant coaches ready for the big chair

Britney Anderson, Illinois

In three stops as an assistant, Anderson’s teams played in the postseason. Illinois went to March Madness last season, which was the seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament for Anderson as an assistant coach or player, a run that includes a national championship win with Stanford in 2021. In addition to coaching under the great Tara VanDerveer, Anderson also worked under Kenny Brooks at her alma mater Virginia Tech. With players Anderson helped recruit and mold, Illinois won an NCAA Tournament game last season for the first time since 2000.

Michelle Sword, Villanova

After playing at Saint Joseph’s, Sword remained in Philadelphia’s Big 5 rivalry by getting her coaching start under Denise Dillon at Drexel in 2012. She’s remained with Dillon since and is now on her staff at Villanova, where the Wildcats are second in the Big East standings. Sword has helped Dillon-coached teams make two NCAA Tournaments, capture a WNIT title and play in the WBIT championship. With Sword on staff, Dillon’s teams have eclipsed 20 wins 10 times in the last 13 years.

Jason Jeschke, Minnesota

Since 2017, Jeschke has been Dawn Plitzuweit’s top lieutenant at South Dakota, West Virginia and now Minnesota, helping her teams make four NCAA Tournaments. A fifth is expected this season as the Gophers are projected to safely be in the field, especially after upsetting Iowa this week, giving Minnesota its first road win over a top-10 team since 2003. Before joining Plitzuweit at South Dakota – where she won 81% of her games in six seasons — Jeschke was the head coach at NAIA Oklahoma Wesleyan University, where he had a high-powered offense that ranked fifth nationally in scoring.

Nina Davis, Middle Tennessee State

After spending some time in broadcasting, Davis pivoted her post-playing career to coaching six years ago and has helped MTSU to three NCAA Tournaments. One of those trips included a first-round upset of Louisville. Davis often works with post players at MTSU, developing a handful of players into all-conference talents. She was also named to the WBCA’s 30 under 30 list in 2023, which highlights rising coaching stars. Davis had a decorated career as a player starring for Kim Mulkey at Baylor where she was a two-time All-American and the Big 12 Player of the Year.

Gabe Lazo, Tennessee

Regarded as one of the top recruiters in the sport, this might be the year where Lazo gets a shot at leading a program. In two seasons in Knoxville, he’s helped Kim Caldwell sign multiple McDonald’s All-Americans while landing talented players from the transfer portal. Prior to joining the Lady Vols, he worked at Mississippi State, George Washington, Stony Brook and FIU, going to three NCAA Tournaments. After his playing days, Lazo worked as a head coach in the high school and AAU ranks around Miami, where he was a three-time high school coach of the year and led his AAU team to the Nike Nationals.

Tennessee assistant coach Gabe Lazo is top recruiter.

Others to watch: Katherine Bixby (North Carolina), Tasha Brown (UCLA), Mandi Carver (Oklahoma State), Latara King (Washington), Elena Lovato (Texas), Brittany Morris (Louisville), Brittany Pinkney (Richmond), Steve Pogue (St. John’s), Jordann Reese (Michigan)

Former head coaches to consider

Mike Neighbors

Neighbors, 56, guided Washington to the program’s lone Final Four appearance in 2016. He then coached at Arkansas from 2017 to 2025 before being forced out. He had two losing seasons and took the Razorbacks to a pair of NCAA Tournaments. Neighbors spent the 2025 WNBA season working as an assistant for the LA Sparks — reuniting with former Washington guard Kelsey Plum — and is now doing analyst work for ESPN and the SEC Network.

Noelle Quinn

Quinn was the head coach of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm for five seasons and, despite making the playoffs in four times, was fired in September. The 41-year-old is currently coaching Breeze BC in Unrivaled and has never led a college team, but sources told USA TODAY Sports she could be interested in West Caost job. Quinn played at UCLA where she was a three-time All-Pac-12 selection. In 2020, she was inducted into the Bruins’ Hall of Fame.

Missy Traversi

Army went 25-8 last season under Traversi’s watch — its best record in a decade — and the Black Knights finished second in the Patriot League and won a game in the WNIT. Traversi resigned to be closer to her family, but sources told USA TODAY Sports she’s ready to get back into coaching. Traversi won big at her previous stop too, Division II Adelphi, with two conference championships. This season, the Army team made up of mostly players Traversi recruited is 15-4. If the right job in New England opens up this spring, Traversi could be in the mix.

Amanda Butler

Butler is in her second season as an assistant on Jeff Walz’s staff at Louisville, but before that had been a head coach at three different programs across 18 seasons. Butler won 40 games in two seasons at Charlotte before taking the reins at her alma mater, Florida. In 10 seasons in Gainesville, she went to the NCAA Tournament four times and had six seasons of at least 20 wins. Finally, at Clemson, she went to one March Madness in six seasons before being fired. Butler has north of 300 career wins. If she wants to be a head coach again, opportunities could exist in this cycle.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2026 women’s basketball coaching candidates: Candidates to know

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