Where Teri Moren Ranks Among NCAA Women's Basketball Coaches
BELOW MOREN
Cori Close, UCLA | 13 Seasons x 287-140 Record at UCLA/All-Time (.672)
Cori Close has led the Bruins to the NCAA tournament in 8 of her 13 seasons running the show, and has catapulted the program back into relevancy. Coming off of a tough defeat at the hands of Kim Mulkey and LSU in last year's Sweet Sixteen, Close and her companions should be eager to bounce back in the season to come.
Niele Ivey, Notre Dame | 4 Seasons x 89-32 Record at ND/All-Time (.736)
As Niele Ivey continues to grow in her development as a shot caller, she could easily find herself among the juggernauts of NCAA head coaches. It seems like she just got started, but it also seems like she has been coaching for YEARS. Her poise and leadership skills even earned her a spot on Teri Moren's staff at this summer's previously mentioned FIBA U18 Women's AmeriCup.
Nicki Collen, Baylor | 3 Seasons x 74-28 Record at Baylor/All-Time (.725)
Taking over for someone of Kim Mulkey's nature is always going to be a tough act to follow. Yet, Baylor has hit the ground running since Nicki Collen took the reigns of this team for her elite predecessor. Just like Ivey, Collen is still learning the ropes of the head coaching realm being that this is her first official experience running a team. So far, she has not made the adjustment phase look difficult.
Lindsay Gottlieb, USC | 3 Seasons x 62-32 Record at USC (.660) | 297-160 Record All-Time (.650)
When many folks think about the current state of USC women's basketball, a lot of the hype is centered around future 1st overall WNBA draft pick JuJu Watkins. The thing about it is, there is a reason why Watkins elected to take her talents to Pasadena. That all starts with the one in charge, and the Trojans have an excellent leader on the come up in the form of Lindsay Gottlieb.
Jan Jensen, Iowa | 0 Seasons x 0-0 Record at Iowa/All-Time (.000)
Out went Caitlin Clark, in came Lucy Olsen on the court. There is no way that Olsen is going to fill the entire void left by NCAA's all-time greatest player, but she plays a similar style and will undoubtedly be crucial in Clark's absence.
Out went Lisa Bluder, in came Jan Jensen off the court. Again, there is no way Jensen is coming in and replicating the type of impact that Bluder had right from the get go. It also does not help that Iowa's first game of the 2024-2025 season will be her first as a head coach. However, this will be her 25th season as a member of the Hawkeyes' coaching staff. Surely she absorbed tons and tons of knowledge from her mentor, and should be ready to sustain this program's level of success.