Top 10 Best Women’s College Basketball Coaches – Power Rankings

Ranking the best Women's College Basketball Coaches of the 2025-2026 NCAA season as Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks leads the way

By Neamen Baattai | April 20, 2026

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One of the things that makes women’s college basketball so great is the continuity within programs. WNBA-caliber players constantly return to their teams, and a lot of high-profile programs have had their coaches for a long time.

Names like Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma have racked up championships and sit at the top of college basketball royalty over the past decade or so. But with a new champion being crowned in UCLA and the emergence of AP coach of the year Shea Ralph and Vanderbilt, the top is beginning to feel a little more crowded than in years prior

Here is a look at the Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Coaches 2025-2026 Rankings:

Honorable Mention

Jeff Walz

School: Louisville Cardinals

Just missing the Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Coaches 2025-2026

Jeff Walz is one of 5 active coaches to reach four final 4s. Louisville lost to a really good Michigan team in the sweet sixteen this year, and even though they have never taken home an NCAA title, they have had a lot of tourney success under Jeff Walz.

Wes Moore

School: NC State Wolfpack

Wes Moore and NC State were not great this year, as at no point did it feel like this team was truly clicking, but despite a down year, I still think Wes Moore is an excellent coach. NC State is only 2 years removed from a final 4 appearance, and I think a lot of his teams have overachieved in his time there. He is the program’s second-winningest coach ever and deserves his respect.

Top 10 Best Women’s College Basketball Coaches

10. Lindsay Gottlieb

School: USC Trojans

Sliding in at number 10 on the Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Coaches 2025-2026 Rankings list is the Trojans’ Lindsay Gottlieb.

USC got into the tourney this year, missing one of the most highly touted college players ever in Juju Watkins, and I think that has to be attributed to the job Lindsay Gottlieb did. Gottlieb took a team to the elite 8 back to back years, but I still often see people share the sentiment that they feel like her teams have underachieved. While I do somewhat agree, I think she has had some bad luck at USC, and the fact that this team got into the dance without Watkins and all the roster turnover is really impressive.

She can recruit up there with some of the best in the country, and that is evident based on how good USC’s 2026 class is. With Juju coming back, the expectations for this team should be at the level of a team you see in Columbus next April.

9. Brenda Frese

School: Maryland Terrapins

Longevity and consistency land Brenda Frese on this list. Brenda has maintained being an elite recruiter throughout her time at Maryland, and they again made it to the second weekend this season.

Brenda’s “tough love” style of coaching resonates with players, and in an era where that style of coaching is not as accepted as years prior, Brenda seems to walk that line really effectively. Her close relationships with players allow her to not only coach effectively, but also help her bring in a lot of recruits, especially in the DMV.

8. Kim Mulkey

School: LSU Tigers

There are not many bigger personalities or more popular names in the world of women’s college basketball than Kim Mulkey. From her eye-popping choices in wardrobe to her fiery competitiveness, she has etched her name as one of the most notable coaches in sports history.

For Mulkey, you don’t play if you don’t put in effort on both sides of the ball. LSU’s offense was outstanding this year as well, and its pace and ability to beat teams in transition gave teams trouble all year. Mulkey may be a little controversial, but you can’t deny her impact on LSU and on the sport as a whole.

7. Kara Lawson

School: Duke

In her first stint as a head coach, Kara Lawson has turned around Duke’s program around in her 6 seasons. Duke boasted one of the best defenses in the country, and if you know how Kara Lawson was as a player, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Her high IQ and defensive prowess have clearly carried over to her coaching career. Duke has won back-to-back ACC tourney titles, and Kara also took home the 2026 ACC coach of the year.

6. Vic Schaefer

School: Texas Longhorns

Vic Shaefer has spent the last decade and a half driving the bus for both Texas and Mississippi. Since leaving Mississippi State, that program has not seen the same type of success they were having under Shaefer, and now at Texas, that success has seemed to follow him.

There are few better program builders than Shaefer, and after leading Texas to its first Final Four in over two decades, he became one of only 2 active head coaches to lead different programs to Final Fours. He has 3 straight 30-win seasons, and with Madison Booker coming back, Shaefer will have Texas in a prime position to make another deep run.

5. Niele Ivey

School: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Niele Ivey was tasked with one of the hardest jobs in college sports, where she was asked to replace program legend Muffet McGraw. McGraw stepped down after 33 years leading this storied Notre Dame program, and after a rough start to her Notre Dame HC career, Niele Ivey has now established herself as one of the best in the sport. Niele guided Notre Dame to its first Elite 8 since 2019, and with Hannah Hidalgo coming back for her senior season, Niele Ivey is looking to keep the momentum going next season.

4. Geno Auriemma

School: Uconn Huskies

Geno very well could have been higher on this list, and if we were doing an all-time ranking, he would arguably be 1. Calling him a legend doesn’t do him justice, and before unceremoniously losing to Dawn Staley in the final 4 this year, he had UConn undefeated. UConn’s defense was stifling this year, and it is the biggest reason they were able to stay perfect until April.

There have been speculations about Geno potentially retiring for it feels like 5 years now, but he confirmed he will be back next season, and while he is still at the Helm, the Huskies will be the cream of the crop in college basketball.

3. Shea Ralph

School: Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt’s program turnaround is truly special, and newly crowned AP coach of the year Shea Ralph is a massive reason why.

Shea Ralph took over the program after a string of seasons that saw Vanderbilt sitting in the basement of the SEC rankings. After 2 sub .500 seasons, Ralph has righted the ship. Vandy set a record for most wins in program history this season with 27 regular-season wins and went 16-0 at home for the first time in school history.

They did all this, returning only 1 starter from last season, and with SEC POTY Mikayla Blakes coming back next season, Vandy has a real chance at contending with the best.

2. Cori Close

School: UCLA Bruins

I considered putting Cori Close at 1 on this list, but ultimately held off on doing that. There may not be many, if any, better recruiters in the sport than Cori Close is. UCLA just had 5 players drafted in the first round, and that amount of high-level talent speaks volumes to the type of recruiter Close is.

I feel like coming into this tourney, she was widely regarded as an elite coach who never won the big game. We live in a culture where people like to judge a player or a coach’s career based on the number of rings they’ve won, and for a while, that was sort of a black mark on her. But now with UCLA winning it all this year, it makes her pretty undeniable as one of the premier coaches in the country.

Not many coaches are able to communicate and build culture the way Cori Close can, and I don’t think it’s out of the realm to think she could be the best coach in the country.

1. Dawn Staley

School: South Carolina Gamecocks

Dawn Staley has a real chance to go down as the GOAT when it’s all said and done, and truthfully, she’s not far off it right now. South Carolina is a fixture in the Final Four every year and has been the ruling power of the past decade. A lot of people forget this was not a great SC program prior to Dawn Staley taking over.

She built the program into the powerhouse it is today, and she’s never looked back. Dawn’s work when it comes to what she has done outside of basketball is another thing that should be applauded as well. Dawn has 3 national titles right now and just made her 6th straight final 4, and being relatively young, she is most likely going to build on the litany of achievements she already has.

Neamen Baattai

Neamen Baattai is a basketball enthusiast who has spent the last half decade covering high school basketball in the DMV. He has a background in journalism and has spent extensive time covering the Dallas mavericks for Fansided along with several other freelance roles centered around basketball.