2024 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Finalists
Five coaches named inaugural finalists
HOPEWELL, N.J. (March 7, 2024) — We are proud to announce the five finalists for the 2024 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. This is the inaugural season of the award, and the award is named after the legendary former Harvard head coach. This year’s watch list includes coaches from five conferences.
Watch List Highlights
Carly Thibault-DuDonis, Fairfield
A month and change since being named to the midseason watch list, Thibault-DuDonis and the Stags are still on the same winning streak, which has now reached a program-record 24 games. They are now ranked No. 25 in the latest AP Top 25. Along with South Carolina, Fairfield is one of just two teams with one or fewer losses. Their lone loss to Vanderbilt continues to look better every day, as the Commodores have risen from 94th to 62nd nationally according to HHS Rating.
With this being just the second season for Thibault-DuDonis, who has gotten off to a hot start from a recruiting perspective with freshmen standouts like Meghan Andersen and Kaety L'Amoreaux, Fairfield is quickly becoming a force.
Vanessa Blair-Lewis, George Mason
Blair-Lewis took over a team in 2021-22 that won just three games overall and no games in A-10 play in the prior season. Now, she has led that team to a 14-4 record in conference play. Even accounting for the A-10 Tournament, the Patriots had won a total of 13 games against conference foes in the previous three seasons combined.
George Mason’s HHS Rating of +14.9 is the program’s highest in the HHS Era (since 2009-10), surpassing even the 2017-18 team that was anchored by honorable mention All-American Natalie Butler.
Lisa Fortier, Gonzaga
Fortier has her Bulldogs team clicking in a major way, riding the nation’s third-longest winning streak at 23 games. This dominant showing has been enough to convince the selection committee that as of the end of February, they are worthy of a top-16 slot and thus hosting First and Second Round games in this year’s NCAA Tournament. No mid-major has done so since Elena Delle Donne and Delaware were a No. 3 seed in the 2012 tournament.
It takes near perfection to overcome the mere fact of being a mid-major team to be placed on the top four seed lines, from tough scheduling to game execution and avoiding injuries. Fortier’s squad is a clean conference tournament away from pulling it off.
Kevin Borseth, Green Bay
Borseth, the longest-tenured coach on this midseason watch list, has his Green Bay Phoenix squad ranked 34th in HHS Rating, which is up 19 spots from last season. The Phoenix are on pace to post their second-best HHS Offensive Rating since 2009-10, trailing only their 2016-17 squad that went 27-6 and ranked in the top 15 in HHS Rating overall.
Lindy La Rocque, UNLV
In the decade before La Rocque arrived at UNLV, the Rebels hovered in the territory of above average but not by much, never ranking higher than 107th nationally in HHS Rating. In the past four seasons, UNLV has posted three of the four best seasons in program history.
That has reached a new apex this season, as La Rocque’s squad currently ranks 15th thanks in large part to their 15th-ranked offense when adjusting for the strength of their opponents. With their continued ascent, and the fact they are currently ranked No. 23 in both the AP and Coaches Poll, they should see a more friendly NCAA Tournament seeding than in past seasons.
Award Eligibility & Schedule
To be eligible for the award, coaches must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be “mid-major.” The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award, and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC. Interim head coaches are eligible, although total games coached will be taken into consideration.
The 20-person preseason watch list was announced in November. The 10-coach midseason watch list was announced in March. The winner will be named on the afternoon of April 3. Coaches will be assessed throughout the entire season, including postseason play. Beyond on-court success, other factors such as recruiting, preseason expectations, injuries, and tactical coaching will also be weighed when assessing each candidate. Inclusion on previous watch lists is not a requirement to be considered for future watch lists.
About Kathy Delaney-Smith
Delaney-Smith’s Harvard teams compiled a record of 630-434 (.592) in her 40-year career, including a 367-168 (.685) record in Ivy League play. Delaney-Smith’s 630 wins rank 31st in Division I history, and ninth among coaches who spent their entire career with a single team.
Delaney-Smith led her teams to six NCAA Tournament appearances and nine WNIT appearances, plus three Ivy League titles before the NCAA Tournament awarded automatic bids to the Ivy League champion. She coached eight Ivy League Player of the Year recipients, six Ivy League Rookie of the Year winners, and all 22 of Harvard’s 1,000-point scorers in the program’s NCAA Division I history.
Delaney-Smith was inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1986, becoming the first woman to ever be inducted, with more than three decades of her career still ahead of her. She was also inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.
A native of Newton, Mass., Delaney-Smith is also among the most accomplished high school players and coaches in the state’s history. She was the first woman in state history to score 1,000 points while at Sacred Heart High School. As a high school coach, Delaney-Smith coached Westwood High School to an overall record of 204-31 across 11 seasons, including a 96-game winning streak.
About Her Hoop Stats
Her Hoop Stats was founded in 2017 to unlock better insight about women's basketball at all levels. We began as a statistics site focused on providing consistent, reliable, and easy-to-access data about women's basketball for both mobile and desktop environments. Her Hoop Stats has expanded to become a leading independent voice in the women's game providing content through our newsletter, podcast network, YouTube channel, and social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).