South Carolina's Dawn Staley, USC's Lindsay Gottlieb and Iowa's Lisa Bluder lead the semifinalists for the 2024 Werner Ladder Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year Award.
Staley has led South Carolina to an undefeated 32-0 record overall and is the favorite to win among the eight semifinalists:
- Jennie Baranczyk (Oklahoma)
- Lisa Bluder (Iowa)
- Kenny Brooks (Virginia Tech)
- Lisa Fortier (Gonzaga)
- Lindsay Gottlieb (USC)
- Felisha Legette-Jack (Syracuse)
- Kevin McGuff (Ohio State)
- Vic Schaefer (Texas)
- Dawn Staley (South Carolina)
- Tara Vanderveer (Stanford)
Staley is a three-time Coach of the Year winner and would be taking home her third straight honor if she wins the trophy this season. She would be the first coach to win three straight COY honors and would join Geno Auriemma and Pat Summitt as the only two coaches with four total awards.
It's hard to see much in the way of competition considering every other Top 10 team has at least four losses while South Carolina is undefeated.
However, Lisa Fortier has Gonzaga seemingly on the verge of its first deep NCAA Tournament run in nearly a decade, and Gottlieb has turned around the USC program in just three years. The Trojans' 26-5 record is their best mark in 30 years, and they won their first conference tournament in a decade.
If voters are having a bit of Staley fatigue, Gottlieb would likely be the best bet for an upset victory.
Auriemma, who set the record with eight COY selections, is not a semifinalist. The UConn legend has not taken home the award since 2017.
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