HARTFORD, Conn. — Longtime UConn women’s basketball assistant coach Shea Ralph will be the new head coach of the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team, the school announced Tuesday.
After spending the last 13 seasons in Storrs, the UConn alum has her first head coaching job in one of the strongest basketball conference in the country. The SEC was one of three conferences to send at least seven teams into the 2021 NCAA Tournament this season.
“It is with great honor and a full heart that I join Vanderbilt University as the next women’s basketball head coach,” Ralph said in a statement. “I have always been motivated and inspired by people who have a passionate pursuit of excellence. Vanderbilt’s rich, storied tradition of excellence speaks for itself, but I believe what sets us apart is the people. I am so excited to work alongside our amazing community in elevating our women’s basketball program back to an elite level. Together we will invest in each other and build a greatness that transcends the game of basketball.”
UConn said in a release it will begin a national search “immediately” for Ralph’s replacement.
Ralph, who worked primarily with UConn’s guards, has been a stalwart on the Huskies’ coaching staff for over a decade after returning to Storrs in 2008 and being part of six of their national-title winning squads. Before graduating from UConn in 2001, Ralph was an All-American in 2000 and the MVP of that year’s Final Four, where the Huskies earned the program’s second national championship.
“I would like to congratulate Shea on being named the head coach at Vanderbilt University,” head coach Geno Auriemma said in a statement. “I know everyone here at UConn is incredibly excited for Shea. It’s an amazing opportunity to be at such a great university in a great city. Shea has had a huge impact on the UConn women’s basketball program, as both a player and a coach. We’re going to miss her tremendously – she brought passion and energy to everything she did in Storrs. But we know she’s going to do amazing things at Vanderbilt and we wish her the best.”
Ralph was drafted by the Utah Starrz in 2001 but never competed due to career-ending knee injuries. Prior to serving as an assistant at UConn, she spent five years at Pitt as an assistant. She is the latest member of the Auriemma coaching tree to earn a head coaching position, with other recent assistants Tonya Cardoza (Temple) and Marisa Moseley (Wisconsin) taking the reins at programs after their time in Storrs.
Ralph will take over the role in Nashville after Stephanie White was fired following five seasons at Vanderbilt. The Commodores haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2014. They previously made five Elite Eights under Jim Foster, which included a trip to the 1993 Final Four.
Vanderbilt went 4-4 this past season (0-3 in SEC play) before canceling the rest of the campaign in January due to COVID-19, opt-outs and injuries.
Ralph’s final season at UConn included a season-opening matchup against her husband Tom Garrick, the women’s head coach at UMass Lowell. She left the San Antonio NCAA Tournament bubble after one day due to a family member’s positive COVID-19 test.
