Which women’s college basketball assistants are ready to become head coaches?

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This offseason, the NCAA allowed college basketball coaching staffs to add two coaches to their rosters. Though these coaches can’t participate in off-campus recruiting, they can coach the players, and that’s a win-win: More coaches get opportunities on the sideline, and more players get direct attention in practices and games. (Hey, way to go, NCAA!)

This means there are roughly 1,500 assistants in women’s college basketball. And no, not all of them will go on to become head coaches. And frankly, some of them don’t want to. But many are gleaning as much as they can in their roles so that if the call comes, they’re ready to run a program as a first-time head coach.

Through conversations with coaches and trusted women’s college basketball insiders across the country, I’ve identified some of those rising stars. I did the same in 2020 and 2021 (not to break my arm patting myself on the back, but …), and from those lists, roughly half are running their own programs.

So, I’m hitting like Caitlin Clark pulling up from 3 on the left wing here, and I’m hoping I don’t have a heat check anytime soon.

As always, these are the parameters: These are coaches who have never led their own NCAA programs. I’ve done my best not to repeat coaches who’ve been on previous lists.

Some of these names you probably know, others you might not. But keep an eye out — one of these coaches might be coming to lead your team soon.

Presented in alphabetical order, here are 20 women’s college hoops assistants who could run their own Division I programs soon.

1. Blanche Alverson, Georgia Tech associate head coach

Despite being just 32, Alverson’s experience in college hoops spans almost all power conferences. She was a four-year letter winner at Auburn before becoming a graduate assistant (GA) at Texas Tech. From there, she was an assistant at New Mexico State and USC before Nell Fortner (for whom she played at Auburn) hired her as a Georgia Tech assistant in 2019. In 2022, she was promoted to associate head coach and worked as the offensive coordinator. Key to her experience — and what athletic directors like to see — is her work as the recruiting coordinator at each stop. With the bulk of her playing and coaching in the Southeast, Alverson seems like a natural fit for a job in that region.

2. Fitzroy Anthony, Miami associate head coach

Any program with an opening in the state of Florida (or nearby states, for that matter) should give Anthony a hard look. He moved from Antigua to Florida as a 12-year-old and has never left. Those deep roots extend to women’s basketball, too. He started his coaching career as a girls high school and grassroots coach before Florida Atlantic hired him in 2012. He spent three seasons as the Owls’ lead scout and defensive game planner before Miami coach Katie Meier hired him as an assistant in 2015 and promoted him to associate head coach in 2022. In the past eight years, two associate head coaches under Meier got their first chances to run programs: Octavia Blue at Kennesaw State in 2022 and Darrick Gibbs at North Florida in 2015. With a proven track record under Meier, decades-long relationships with high school and grassroots coaches in the Southeast and having contributed to Miami’s growth as a program, Anthony’s resume should speak to a lot of ADs in that region.

3. Lauren Battista, Princeton assistant/recruiting coordinator

The Ivy League has elevated its play in recent years, so you better believe athletic directors will be looking at those schools for assistants ready to lead their own programs. Battista is one such coach. She was the 2014 Division II player of the year at Bentley, where her experience playing as a tweener has helped her as a coach to develop guards and post players, including Princeton’s Bella Alarie and Abby Meyers, who were drafted. She worked as a GA at Boston College before Carla Berube hired her as an assistant at Tufts in 2018. A year later, Berube brought Battista to Princeton, where she has taken the lead with the Tigers’ offensive attack. In four seasons, the Tigers earned berths in two NCAA Tournaments, with first-round wins in both years.

We are thrilled to announce this ⭐️ and friendly face as our program’s newest Recruiting Coordinator.

📞Call her,📱beep her, if you wanna reach her… Congratulations, @LaurenBattista ‼️🤩

🔗: https://t.co/sCmB4Z4urJ pic.twitter.com/uwKvolmq6t

— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) May 12, 2022

4. Jonas Chatterton, Oregon State associate head coach

Chatterton has spent nearly two decades as a Division I assistant west of Denver, so his name should be in the hat for most West Coast openings. His career began at BYU and Colorado, but he has spent the past nine seasons as an assistant on Scott Rueck’s Oregon State staff. In Corvallis, he has helped build and maintain a program in a conference with continually shifting powers. Because Oregon State has recruited nationally and internationally, Chatterton has developed relationships with coaches all over the world — an attractive aspect on a resume for a program looking to reload and rebuild.

5. Sadie Edwards, Baylor assistant/recruiting coordinator

Even in just five years as an assistant, Edwards, 27, has amassed an impressive resume that includes three power conferences and the WNBA: two seasons as a GA at Indiana, one season as the ops manager for the New York Liberty and a season with Oregon before joining Nicki Collen’s Baylor staff this past offseason. A 2023 WBCA Thirty Under 30 honoree, Edwards is the youngest person mentioned on this list, but within the next five years, her resume will start to find its way across athletic directors’ desks as they look for someone who understands the on- and off-court needs of a program.

We’re adding an ⭐️ all-star ⭐️ to our coaching staff!

🗞️ https://t.co/zbhhlqoobo#SicEm | #GreaterThan pic.twitter.com/H8T9WzyZHz

— Baylor Women’s Basketball (@BaylorWBB) July 19, 2023

6. Bill Ferrara, Florida State associate head coach

Ferrara was a big part of Florida State’s success last year as he revamped the Seminoles offense in his first season. As a result, FSU produced its highest points per game total (79.3) since the 2017-18 season, and its pace (85.5 possessions per 40 minutes) was the fastest since at least 2009. Outside of a stint at Florida, he arrived in Tallahassee after spending the majority of his career at mid-majors, working with posts at New Mexico, George Washington — where he worked with WNBA All-Star and MVP Jonquel Jones — and St. John’s. His ability to develop posts and his predilection for high-scoring, exciting offensive game plans could make him an intriguing prospect for athletic directors looking to boost their programs.

7. Winston Gandy, South Carolina assistant

Gandy joins a staff that has three coaches with college head-coaching experience: Dawn Staley, Lisa Boyer (Bradley) and Jolette Law (Illinois). He filled the spot of Fred Chmiel, who was hired as Bowling Green’s head coach this past offseason. That’s basically winning the lottery in terms of learning how you’d want to run your own program and knowing you’re in a great training ground. Though Gandy has only six years on college basketball sidelines with three seasons at Duke and three seasons at Rice, he also has three years of NBA player development work, something we’ve seen college programs appreciate in head-coaching applicants (Notre Dame’s Niele Ivey, USC’s Lindsay Gottlieb, Duke’s Kara Lawson).

8. Raina Harmon, Iowa assistant

Harmon has spent the past two-plus decades as a college player and coach in Michigan and Iowa (Iowa, Michigan and Central Michigan), establishing a recruiting foothold throughout the Midwest. She’s in her seventh season with Iowa, gaining experience under the established and well-oiled machine of head coach Lisa Bluder and her longtime associate head coach, Jan Jensen. Every Hawkeyes coach has their hands in a lot of aspects of the program and game planning, which is helpful when an assistant is gathering tools that will help as a head coach. Harmon works specifically with the wings in Iowa City. Kate Martin is a great example of Harmon’s tutelage, having grown her game in every season over the past four years. Harmon also helped Hannah Stuelke develop her perimeter game.

9. Lindsey Hicks, Virginia Tech associate head coach

Heading into her fourth season at Virginia Tech, Hicks has made a name for herself as a post player talent developer, seen most crucially in Elizabeth Kitley, a two-time ACC player of the year and two-time AP All-American. Throughout her career, which has spanned mid-majors and power conferences, Hicks primarily has worked with post players. Before joining the Hokies in August 2020, she spent five seasons under Brooke Stoehr at Louisiana Tech and Northwestern State. Hicks can speak directly to players’ experiences, a key to her success in player development and recruiting. She played four seasons at Purdue, competing in four NCAA Tournaments and reaching the national title game in 2001 before spending six seasons as a professional player overseas.

10. Chris Koclanes, USC assistant

Koclanes has the least amount of college assistant coaching experience on this list, but his time coaching in the WNBA is valuable. USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb hired him away from the Los Angeles Sparks. He spent the last five seasons working as the defensive coordinator for Curt Miller (most recently with the Sparks but also with the Connecticut Sun). Before that, Koclanes was the Sun’s video coordinator for three seasons. Before his WNBA experience, he was in ops and video coordination at the college level (William and Mary, St. Joseph’s and USC). Generally, I don’t hear much from people in the business when assistants are hired, but when Gottlieb added him to the staff in September, several people reached out with comments along the lines of “That was a great hire” or “Lindsay got a steal.”

Welcome back to the #TrojanFamily, Chris Koclanes!

Koclanes brings 8 years of WNBA experience to our coaching staff. pic.twitter.com/WO7L2EMu0k

— USC Women’s Basketball (@USCWBB) September 26, 2023

11. Kelly Komara, Purdue associate head coach

The Indiana native has spent the majority of her playing and coaching career in the Midwest with coaching stops at Purdue, Marquette, Valparaiso and Northwestern. She returns to Purdue, her alma mater, for her second stint after two seasons with Megan Duffy at Marquette and five seasons at Vanderbilt with former Purdue teammate Stephanie White (with her final three seasons as an associate head coach). Komara is showing her value in building a program in a deep conference. The Boilermakers made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 last season, and the Big Ten will get more attention as it brings in Pac-12 schools. If Purdue can keep pace and get into March Madness or leapfrog other teams, athletic directors will come calling for coaches like Komara who have helped build programs.

12. Michaela Mabrey, Notre Dame assistant/recruiting coordinator

After a decorated playing career at Notre Dame, Mabrey returned to join the staff in 2019 under former coach Muffet McGraw. In South Bend, Mabrey has witnessed how a longtime coach runs a program, and then, when Niele Ivey took over, how a first-time head coach continues success and tradition. Among the Irish, Mabrey is known as a coach who eats, sleeps and breathes recruiting, so her appointment to recruiting coordinator in 2022 was a no-brainer. Before Notre Dame, she made three one-year stops at Miami (player development), Miami of Ohio (assistant coach) and LSU (recruiting coordinator). Mabrey has led recruiting efforts nationally, but with her experience in the Midwest and her New Jersey roots, it’s fair to think Midwestern and Northeastern mid-majors will consider hiring her in the coming years.

13. Joy McCorvey, Tennessee assistant

McCorvey, a former mid-major player, has worked as an assistant at three power conference schools as well as a mid-major. She coached under Kim Barnes Arico at St. John’s (where she played) and Michigan (2012-18), under Sue Semrau and Brooke Wyckoff at Florida State (2018-21) and is currently under Kellie Harper at Tennessee (since 2021). These experiences have taught her about program-building at the mid-major and high-major levels as well as working with established programs that expect an NCAA Tournament invite every year (FSU and Tennessee). In her 13 years as an assistant, her teams have won at least 20 games on 11 occasions and she has been to seven NCAA Tournaments. For the majority of her career, she has worked with post players, and at Tennessee, her quick developmental work can be seen in the progress of Rickea Jackson and Tamari Key.

14. Calamity McEntire, Illinois associate head coach

McEntire began her career as a manager for Pat Summitt at Tennessee from 2001 to 2003. For the next 14 seasons, she served as an assistant and recruiting coordinator all over the country and in several conferences (Fresno State, UC Santa Barbara, Arizona and Hawaii). In 2017, she joined Shauna Green’s staff at Dayton, where she helped establish the Flyers in the Atlantic 10, winning the conference four times. When Green was hired by Illinois, she quickly hired McEntire. Last season, the Illini recorded their best season in 20 years, finishing fifth in the Big Ten and punching a ticket to the NCAA Tournament (their first since 2003). Athletic directors take notice of coaches like McEntire, who have experience at the mid-major and high-major levels and have helped establish programs.

15. Cory McNeill, East Carolina associate head coach

McNeill has been a part of three big turnarounds in the past 16 seasons. As a Georgetown assistant from 2007 to 2011, he helped the Hoyas go from being a 13-win team to two NCAA Tournament appearances in his last two seasons. At Hartford from 2016 to 2019, he assisted the Hawks in transforming from an 11-win team to a 23-win team in just four seasons as well as reaching the WNIT in 2019. Most recently, at ECU, he has helped with another turnaround, taking the Pirates from being a 16-win team in 2019 to earning an NCAA Tournament appearance last season. McNeill is married to ECU head coach Kim McNeill, but it sounds like he’d be open to the right opportunity to lead a program.

16. Carla Morrow, Ohio State associate head coach

With four West Coast teams entering the Big Ten, the conference’s recruiting footprint is expanding, but athletic directors will value coaches who have a foothold in a specific area. Morrow, who has spent the majority of her career in Ohio, has just that. She played at Tulsa and worked on Colorado’s and Missouri State’s staffs, but in 2007, Kevin McGuff hired her to help him build Xavier. When McGuff left in 2011 for Washington, she stayed behind. A sign of how well respected she was and how well she fit into different staffs, she remained at Xavier with the next two head coaches before departing in April 2017 to coach with the Chicago Sky. Morrow’s WNBA experience will be attractive to athletic directors, as it shows a deep understanding of getting players to the next level. In 2019, McGuff convinced Morrow to join him at Ohio State, and in 2021, he promoted her to associate head coach.

17. Shannon LeBeauf, UCLA associate head coach/recruiting coordinator

LeBeauf has spent nearly 25 seasons as a power conference assistant, with stops at Iowa, USC and Duke before joining UCLA in 2011. Coach Cori Close has had a lot of consistency on her staff since then, with LeBeauf and Tony Newnan staying the entire time. That level of cohesion and trust gives the staff the ability to have their hands on many aspects of the program. LeBeauf has been the co-defensive coordinator and a key part of player development, but she is also an elite recruiter. Since 2016, the Bruins have signed 13 top-50 recruits, including five in the last two classes alone. With LeBeauf leading the charge, UCLA has also excelled in recruiting the transfer portal, where the Bruins pulled in one of the top players in this year’s transfer portal crop — 6-foot-7 Lauren Betts (Stanford) — as well as other power conference transfers in seasons past, including Gina Conti, Angela Dugalić and Jaelynn Penn.

18. Gavin Petersen, Utah associate head coach

Considering how head coach Lynne Roberts has built Utah into a top-10 team, the coaches on her staff who have been there — especially those who’ve been there the whole time, like Petersen — will have opportunities to run their own programs. Petersen, an associate head coach for the past five seasons, is defensive-minded and has primarily worked with Utah’s post game over the past eight years. He has worked with players like Alissa Pili (the 2023 Pac-12 player of the year), Megan Huff (two-time All-Pac 12) and Emily Potter (program leader in career blocks). Before Utah, Petersen spent two decades as an assistant, including several years at mid-major programs like Idaho, Pacific and Hawaii. That kind of experience can be crucial for coaches and attractive to athletic departments. With the majority of his experience in the West, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get an opportunity in that region. His resume certainly should appeal to power conference schools.

19. Gary Redus II, LSU assistant

In just his second season at LSU, Redus has already made a name for himself as a player’s coach and high-level recruiter. He was spotted regularly playing one-on-one against Angel Reese this offseason on Instagram and engaging with his players on social media. In this modern era of coaching, connecting with athletes and meeting them where they are is a huge advantage. Redus was key in helping the Tigers sign the No. 1 high school recruiting class in 2023 and securing LSU’s high-profile players out of the transfer portal (Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow). Before LSU, Redus spent five seasons as an assistant at SMU, Vanderbilt and Division II Delta State. LSU understands he’s a big asset to its recruiting and staff, so the Tigers don’t want to lose him. In such a short time learning under coach Kim Mulkey, it’s unlikely he’d step away from the Tigers too soon. But, make no mistake, when he does leave Baton Rouge, it’ll be for a head coaching job.

20. Rhet Wierzba, Indiana associate head coach

Assistants who help build programs are attractive to athletic directors. But ones who helped build power conference programs into elite teams land on the must-interview list. That’s Wierzba. He has spent the majority of his coaching career with Teri Moren, first for a season at Indiana State and for the past decade at Indiana. They’ve taken the Hoosiers from a program with just 11 wins in the four seasons before they took over to a program consistently ranked in the top 10 over the past three seasons. Wierzba primarily works with post players — notably All-American Mackenzie Holmes — and has helped develop strong paint play that turned the Hoosiers into a top rebounding team. Though the bulk of his career has been in the state of Indiana, the Hoosiers have made recruiting inroads throughout the Midwest and Northeast (as well as into Tennessee and Colorado), so he has relationships with high school coaches across the country.

(Illustration: John Bradford / The Athletic; Photos of Michaela Mabrey and Lindsey Hicks: Erica Denhoff / Icon Sportswire Getty)