Today was one of the biggest days for developments in the Division III women’s basketball coaching carousel. So yes, I know I’m putting this out on a Friday evening. But I think the coaching news from this afternoon certainly warrants it.
We saw three head coaching jobs open up within the last five hours or so, plus a new hiring made in the MIAC.
Next to Transylvania’s Juli Fulks departing for Marshall and Trinity (CT)’s Emily Garner heading to Cornell, I think the news that came out of Washington & Lee this afternoon is amongst the most significant offseason news we’ve gotten in D3 women’s basketball this spring: W&L head coach Christine Clancy has announced her resignation.
In 12 seasons at the helm, Clancy led W&L to a 190-116 record, including two ODAC titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances. Of course, this past season was the shining moment for the program under Clancy’s leadership, with the Generals reaching the Elite Eight for the first time in history. Led by All-American Mary Schleusner, W&L took down Vassar, Catholic, and Rhode Island College in an incredible NCAA Tournament run. That came on the heels of an ODAC tournament title, and Clancy will leave W&L as the program’s all-time leader in wins.
“Coaching the W&L Women’s Basketball program has been a privilege, I am so proud of the accomplishments of the student athletes and teams that I have coached,” Clancy said in a press release. “I believe wholeheartedly in the future of this program. At this time, it is important for me to prioritize my health, happiness, and family. I would like to thank to Jan Hathorn, President Dudley, and W&L for supporting me, believing in me, and entrusting me with the leadership of the W&L Women’s Basketball Program.”
Clancy closed out her tenure at W&L with seven straight winning seasons, and five consecutive years with 13 or more ODAC victories. She will be missed in that program, having raised the standard of excellence as she built a national contender. According to the press release, a search for the program’s next head coach will begin immediately.
Also in Region 6, Oglethorpe’s Alex Richey announced his resignation this afternoon, after 10 seasons leading the program, leaving as the all-time winningest head coach in Oglethorpe women’s sports history. He will move to a position as the head of the girls basketball program at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta.
He took Oglethorpe from a bottom-tier SAA program to a program that won three SAA regular season titles and went to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 2018-2020. In fact, he was an NCAA Coach of the Year finalist in 2020 as the Stormy Petrels went 29-7, advancing to the second weekend of the national tournament before it was cancelled due to Covid. In total, Richey went 154-103 as Oglethorpe’s head coach, leading the program to some of its finest moments, including a 34-game win streak between 2019-2021 and a No. 4 national ranking during the 2020-21 season.
“It is bittersweet knowing that my time here is ending,” Richey said in a press release, “but I know that the legacy we have created together with the amazing young people I have gotten to work with on and off the court during my time here will never be forgotten. I will always be a Stormy Petrel and look forward to supporting this special place for the rest of my life.”
Brandeis will also have a change in leadership as longtime head coach Carol Simon will retire, effective immediately, according to a Boston Globe article published today. Simon has been under much scrutiny for having a toxic culture within her program in addition to strong allegations of racism, and that led to a lengthy leave of absence that spanned almost a full year. However, she was reinstated as head coach in late March of this year, amidst much frustration from the Brandeis community and the women’s basketball program. Tensions rose, so much so that an April 19 article in the Boston Globe reported on a letter that had been sent to Simon by all 11 remaining players in the program, informing her that they would all leave the program if she did not resign (or retire).
Read more on that here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/04/26/sports/brandeis-womens-basketball-coach-carol-simon/
On top of that, Brandeis had struggled in a big way in recent years on the court, going just 2-26 in UAA play over the last two seasons, along with just three winning seasons in the last decade (and all three seasons saw Brandeis win fewer than 60% of its games). It is past time for a change at Brandeis, and the hope is that the right coach can come into the program and build it into a UAA contender very soon. This is the second UAA job that has come open this offseason, as Carnegie Mellon’s Jacquie Hullah left that program after 13 years at the helm following this past season.
Mount Holyoke, after being led by Jackie Ward for the last six seasons, will turn to Abby Wemhoff, a former Juniata assistant coach and Mount Union alum. Wemhoff is the 14th head coach in the program’s history and this marks her first head coaching opportunity, having spent the majority of her career thus far on the staff at Juniata. From 2018-2024, she assisted longtime head coach Danny Young-Uhrich in virtually every aspect of the program, and was described by Young-Uhrich as a coach with an excellent basketball IQ and someone who “truly embodies the Division III spirit”.
Wemhoff’s entire collegiate playing and coaching career has been spent in D-III, as she helped Mount Union claim the 2016 OAC title, starting every game of that season as a senior. She then went on to Waynesburg as a grad assistant in 2017-18, before moving on to her most recent position at Juniata.
Wemhoff takes over a Mount Holyoke program that went 2-23 a season ago and is seeking its first season with at least three wins since the 2014-15 campaign.
William Smith is turning to an alum as its next head coach, replacing Lindsay Sharman, who led the program for 18 seasons. Seraphine Hamilton, a 2006 graduate of William Smith, was officially announced as the Herons’ head coach on Tuesday, after five years as a coach, teacher, and administrator at Princeton Day School.
Hamilton was one of the most accomplished players in William Smith’s last two decades as a program, helping the Herons to consecutive 20+ win seasons, a pair of Liberty League titles, and an NCAA Tournament appearance. That went alongside her excellence in soccer, where she was twice named an All-American and helped William Smith’s soccer program reach the NCAAs on two occasions.
This marks her second stint with the program, as she previously served as an assistant from 2015-2017, and it will be her first collegiate head coaching opportunity. William Smith comes off a 7-18 season in 2023-24.
Saint Mary’s (MN) also filled its head coaching vacancy with the hire of UW-Milwaukee assistant coach Courtney Shelton, which was announced this afternoon. Shelton’s coaching experience has come primarily at the Division I level, as she spent last season in Milwaukee, preceded by six seasons at Central Michigan.
A well-respected recruiter, she is taking over a Saint Mary’s program that went 3-23 a season ago, and competing in the MIAC is no easy task. This marks both her first Division III job and first head coaching position, which will be two significant adjustments coming from her previous position at UW-Milwaukee.
“Courtney is a top-shelf coach,” said Sue Guevara, former Central Michigan and University of Michigan women’s basketball head coach, in a press release. “She has so much passion, is determined, hard-nosed, and a rising star. I can’t wait to watch her lead the Saint Mary’s program. Her love for the defensive side of the ball is going to be reflective in her program. She has been around so many great coaches and will immediately make an impact.”
So to recap: In this past week, we’ve had four head coaching jobs open (Bard, Washington & Lee, Oglethorpe, Brandeis), and three head coaching hirings, all of which will be first-year head coaches (Mount Holyoke, William Smith, Saint Mary’s).