2025 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Midseason Watch List
10 coaches representing seven conferences named to midseason watch list
HOPEWELL, N.J. (January 22, 2025) — We are proud to announce the 10-person midseason watch list for the 2025 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. This is the second season of the award, and the award is named after the legendary former Harvard head coach. This year’s watch list includes coaches from seven conferences.
Carly Thibault-DuDonis, Fairfield
Between improvements on the defensive glass – their defensive rebounding rate has improved from 88th to 16th in Division I – and taking care of the ball – their turnover rate has improved from 263rd nationally to 98th – Fairfield has averaged 1.7 more shots and limited their opponents to 1.9 fewer shots. That swing has yielded an additional +4.0 to the Stags’ average scoring margin.
Vanessa Blair-Lewis, George Mason
Blair-Lewis’ team has continued its steady ascent, ranking seventh in HHS Rating (which estimates a team’s margin per 100 possessions against an average team) among mid-major programs this season after ranking 241st out of 267 in 2020-21 before she took over. Across Blair-Lewis’ tenure, George Mason has upped their HHS Rating by at least 6.5 four seasons in a row, the most of any team in Division I in that time.
Carrie Moore, Harvard
Behind a greatly improved defense that is allowing 11.5 fewer points per game than last season, Moore’s Crimson squad has road wins over Indiana and Northwestern, and home wins over Boston College and Rhode Island.
Larry Vickers, Norfolk St.
Vickers has rebuilt the Spartans from the ground up over the last decade, leading them to the program’s best era since the 1990s. Over the eight and a half seasons before Vickers took over as interim head coach, the Spartans won just 33 of their last 134 conference games. Vickers has won 87 of his first 128. This season’s squad has wins over Auburn, Missouri and Wyoming – all either on the road or at a neutral site.
Carla Berube, Princeton
The 2024-25 Princeton Tigers are a very different team than last season, with Kaitlyn Chen and Ellie Mitchell out of Ivy League eligibility and a season-ending injury to Madison St. Rose after just four games. And yet, Berube has the Tigers clicking again as the third-best team in a mid-major conference according to HHS Rating.
Tricia Fabbri, Quinnipiac
Four non-conference games tell the story of Quinnipiac’s turnaround. Last season’s 44-point loss to Harvard was flipped to a 23-point win. After losing to Princeton by nine, they won this year’s matchup by eight. They avenged a 24-point loss to Yale with a 16-point victory. And most recently, a five-point loss to Vermont became a five-point win. Their +15.6 improvement in HHS Rating is the best among mid-major programs this season.
Aaron Roussell, Richmond
The top-ranked mid-major team in the nation according to HHS Rating, Roussell and Richmond challenged themselves with a demanding non-conference schedule. They came away with wins over Oklahoma State, Fairfield and Columbia while putting up strong performances against Texas and Alabama.
Aaron Johnston, South Dakota St.
The Jackrabbits have won 45 consecutive games against Summit League opponents between the regular season and conference tournaments. In the non-conference, South Dakota State racked up wins over Creighton and Wisconsin, flipping outcomes from a year ago. They also have wins over Oregon and Montana and a narrow loss to Duke on their resume.
Lindy La Rocque, UNLV
The Rebels are once again one of the top two highest-rated mid-major teams in the country, as La Rocque looks for a third-straight 30-win season despite the departure of star center Desi-Rae Young for the WNBA Draft.
Karen Aston, UTSA
In the four seasons before Aston’s arrival, the Roadrunners won just 17 games against Division I opponents. UTSA has already won 16 this season through 18 games, with their lone losses in road games against Texas A&M (55-51) and Stanford (62-57).
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, and SEC. Additionally, Oregon State and Washington State are ineligible this year as membership in the Pac-12 Conference evolves. Interim head coaches are eligible, although total games coached will be taken into consideration.
The 20-person preseason watch list was announced in October. The five finalists for the award will be announced in March, with the winner being named around the Final Four. 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 32nd 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 has 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 (Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).