Shea Ralph is going to go head-to-head with her college coach, Geno Auriemma.
Ralph — a former Big East Player of the Year, national champion, All-American and then assistant coach at UConn — has been the head coach at Vanderbilt for five years. Within the next few seasons, her Commodores will face off against the Huskies twice.
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UConn and Vanderbilt announced a two-year deal for a home-and-home series in women’s basketball on Wednesday. The Commodores will visit Storrs, Connecticut, in the 2027-28 season, and then the Huskies will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, in 2028-29.
Ralph and Auriemma have never coached against each other. UConn is 6-2 all-time against Vanderbilt, with the last meeting coming in 2020 — a 64-51 win for the Huskies — when Stephanie White was the head coach of the Commodores.
This season, UConn and Vanderbilt are the lone remaining undefeated teams in the sport.
More: Geno Auriemma praises Vanderbilt women’s hoops coach, undefeated start
Led by stellar sophomore guard Mikayla Blakes, the Commodores are off to their best start in program history with a 19-0 record. It’s also the first time since the 2008-09 campaign that Vandy has beaten multiple top-10-ranked opponents in the same season. Vandy is also on pace to secure a top 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007.
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The reigning national champs, UConn is also 19-0 after beating rival Notre Dame on Monday. The Huskies have been powered by sophomore forward Sarah Strong and senior guard Azzi Fudd. The 2027-28 matchup between the Huskies and Commodores would be the senior campaigns for Strong and Blakes, who split last season’s National Freshman of the Year awards — Blakes got the honor from the USBWA, while the WBCA recognized Strong.
For Ralph, the 2027-28 matchup will also be a homecoming of sorts. She was the Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four for the Huskies in 2000 when she guided them to a national championship, and then helped UConn win six more titles as an assistant coach from 2008 through 2021.
Ralph and Strong also share something in common: They are the last two players from North Carolina to be named the National High School Player of the Year — Ralph in 1996 and Strong in 2024 — and they both chose to sign with UConn.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UConn women’s basketball agrees to series with Vanderbilt, Shea Ralph
