Top 10 Best Women’s College Basketball Coaches – Power Rankings

Ranking the best Women's College Basketball Coaches of the 2023-2024 NCAA season as Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks leads the way

By admin | November 5, 2024

The landscape of Women’s College Basketball continues to evolve from one year to the next as the level of talent continues to improve. Leading the evolution within the women’s game of basketball at the college level starts with the growth of the overall game including the development within competitive girl’s youth basketball leagues. Lastly, playing a huge role is the head coach of each of the Women’s College Basketball programs who recruit, build, and mold these future stars into players who can help carry their team to a National Championship. This includes Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks who currently ranks atop the Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Coaches 2023-2024 Rankings.

Staley has emerged as the face of coaches within the women’s game of basketball while leading the Gamecocks to two National Championships over the past three seasons as well as three over the past eight seasons. Staley who has compiled a 440-106 overall record with the Gamecocks continues to put a highly competitive team on the court each season.

Joining Staley among the best head coaches in Women’s College Basketball includes Geno Auriemma of the UConn Huskies, Lindsay Gottlieb of the USC Trojans, Kim Mulkey of the LSU Tigers, and Wes Moore of the NC State Wolfpack.

Here is a look at the Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Coaches 2023-2024 Rankings:

Honorable Mention

Teri Moren

School: Indiana Hoosiers

Just missing the Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Coaches 2023-2024 Rankings list is the Indiana Hoosiers head coach Teri Moren. Moren who took over the Hoosiers before the 2014-2015 college basketball season.

In each of the past five full seasons not including the cancelled 2019-2020 tournament, Moren has helped guide her team to the NCAA Tournament including two trips to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and one trip to the NCAA Elite Eight. During the 2022-2023 NCAA Season, the Hoosiers capped off an 26-6 overall record and a 15-3 record within the Big Ten.

Overall, the Hoosiers finished ranked 12^th on the AP Top 25 Women’s College Basketball poll and second within the Big Ten conference.

Kevin McGuff

School: Ohio State Buckeyes

Coming off his first Big Ten Coach of the Year Award, Kevin McGuff ranks among the best coaches in women’s basketball. McGuff and the Ohio State Buckeyes are coming off their first outright Big Ten Championship since the 2017-2018 season in a conference loaded with talented teams.

Overall, the Buckeyes finished the season winning four of their seven matchups against AP Top 25 ranked teams including wins over both the Iowa Hawkeyes and Indiana Hoosiers who finished second and third within the conference.

Top 10 Best Women’s College Basketball Coaches

10. Cori Close

School: UCLA Bruins

Sliding in at number 10 on the Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Coaches 2023-2024 Rankings list is the UCLA Bruins women’s head coach Cori Close.

Close, who has been at the helm of the Bruins since taking over the program in 2011, has had a ton of success with the program including leading the Bruins to five NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances. The latest came during the team’s run to a 27-7 record and second place finish within the Pac-12 Conference during the 2023-2024 season.

Much of their success this season came with the impressive class of freshman recruit last season including Kiki Rice, however Close’s ability to recruit landed talented sophomore transfer Lauren Betts to transfer in before this season.

9. Niele Ivey

School: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish found the right coach for the job when selecting Niele Ivey as their head coach entering the 2020-2021 college season.

After finishing 10-10 during the shortened Pandemic College Basketball Season, Ivey and the Fighting Irish have been as consistent as any team in the country reaching three straight NCAA Sweet Sixteen with their latest appearance coming during the 2023-2024 campaign.

Ivey has built a winning culture within the Fighting Irish women’s basketball team, including leading the team to a 28-7 record this past season to go along with a second-place finish within the ACC conference with a 13-5 record.

In addition to the success this season Ivey continues to recruit among the top in the country including with 2023-2024 freshman Hannah Hidalgo who put together one of the top seasons among freshman in Women’s College Basketball.

8. Vic Schaefer

School: Texas Longhorns

Another trip to the Elite Eight helps land Vic Schaefer among the best head coaches in Women’s College Basketball. In his fourth season with the Texas Longhorns, the Longhorns put together the best season under Schaefer cruising to a 33-5 overall record to go along with a 14-4 record within the Big 12 Conference.

The Longhorns regular season success continued into the postseason starting with Schaefer leading the team to their second Big 12 Championship over the past three seasons.

In the end however the hot streak came to an end in the Elite Eight after knocking off the Drexel Dragons, Gonzaga Bulldogs, and Alabama Crimson Tide before running out of steam against a strong NC State Wolfpack squad.

7. Kenny Brooks

School: Virginia Tech Hokies

While the end of his reign of head coach of the Virginia Tech Hokies has come to an end after accepting a new contract with the Kentucky Wildcats, it is hard to look past the success Brooks and the Hokies had during the 2023-2024 NCAA season.

After leading the Hokies to three straight WNIT tournaments after taking over the program back before the 2016-201 NCAA Season, the Hokies have made four straight trips to the NCAA tournament while consistently field one of the top teams within the ACC conference.

That includes his latest success while leading the Hokies to the ACC regular season title and an 25-8 overall record before falling within the second round of the 2024 NCAA Women’s tournament.

This success comes one season after the Hokies reached the Final Four last season and won the 2023 ACC Tournament. Brooks will now look to rebuild and re-tool a Wildcats team that has struggled against the top teams in the SEC conference.

6. Lisa Bluder

School: Iowa Hawkeyes

When you have one of the greatest Women’s College Basketball players of all-time on your roster it may look easy to be successful. However, that is not always the case as we have seen over the years as one player can not carry the load of the entire team.

While Caitlin Clark was the leader and the key part of the success, Lisa Bluder is hard to look past as one of the best coaches after helping to build an Iowa Hawkeyes team that made two straight trips to the National Championship game. In addition to the trip to the big game, Bluder helped guide the Hawkeyes to an impressive 34-5 overall record and 7-3 record against top ranked opponents.

5. Wes (Frank) Moore

School: NC State Wolfpack

Rounding out the Top 5 on the Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Coaches 2023-2024 Rankings list is the NC State Wolfpack head coach Frank Moore. While the Wolfpack Women’s College Basketball team often gets overlooked among the best programs in the country, the overall success of the team ranks among the best in the country.

Moore, who has been the head coach of the Wolfpack since 2013, has picked up three ACC Coach of the Year Awards, three ACC Championships and his first trip to the Final Four during the 2024 Women’s National Championship tournament. In addition to that success Moore helped guide the Wolfpack to an impressive 9-4 overall record against AP Top 25 ranked opponents during the season.

Ultimately the Wolfpacks season would come to an end against the eventual National Champions the South Carolina Gamecocks during the Women’s Final Four.

4. Kim Mulkey

School: LSU Tigers

After winning the National Championship just a season ago, Kim Mulkey’s success as a head coach continued during the 2023-2024 Women’s College Basketball season.

Mulkey who led four different teams to a National Championship including the 2022-2023 Tigers team, posted her second straight 30 plus win season with the Tigers since taking over as head coach for the 2021-2022 schedule.

Mulkey since taking over the program has found ways to bring in the top talent in the nation including landing Angel Reese before last season in the transfer portal. Her leadership and coaching abilities also helped her land multiple transfers leading into this season that helped the team’s success.

3. Lindsay Gottlieb

School: USC Trojans

One of the under the radar Women’s College Basketball coaches that continues to develop as a head coach is the USC Trojans Lindsay Gottlieb. Gottlieb who took over the Trojans program for the 2021-2022 season had her struggles taking over a program that had struggled to build consistency.

After a down season in her first season, Gottlieb led the Trojans to the Women’s National Championship tournament last season. The success continued during the 2023-2024 season helping to lead the Trojans to a second-place finish within the Pac-12 Conference and a 29-6 record.

In addition to helping the Trojans put together a great season, Gottlieb put together an impressive recruiting class that featured the nation’s top high school player Juju Watkins who was a key part of the team’s success all season.

2. Geno Auriemma

School: UConn Huskies

One of the most successful college programs in Women’s College Basketball history is the UConn Huskies. Most of that success is due to head coach Geno Auriemma who has built a powerhouse among the women’s game and a program that competes for an opportunity to compete each season.

The same case took the hardwood during the 2023-2024 Women’s College Basketball season as Auriemma guided the Huskies to a 33-6 record.

In addition to winning the Big East title for the four straight seasons, the Huskies made their third trip to the Final Four over that stretch coming up just short of a trip to the National Championship.

1. Dawn Staley

School: South Carolina Gamecocks

In at number one on the Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Coaches 2023-2024 Rankings list is the South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley.

It is hard to look past Staley as the best head coach in Women’s College Basketball right now. Staley who took over as the head coach of the Gamecocks before the 2008-2009 season has delivered the Gamecocks to 12 straight NCAA Tournaments including three national championships.

Despite having to rebuild after their 2022 National Championship, Staley led the Gamecocks on an undefeated run over 38 games to win the 2024 National Championship. In addition, Staley continues to find star power to retool her roster each college basketball season.