PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State Women's Basketball Head Coach Kamie Ethridge has been named the 2022-23 National Coach of the Year by The Athletic, as voted on by their staff of women's college basketball writers. It is the first time in program history that a Washington State women's basketball coach has won any National Coach of the Year honor from a national publication.
Ethridge once again raised the bar in her fifth year as head coach at Washington State. Ethridge guided the Cougars to a magical run in last week's Pac-12 Tournament, as WSU provided some of the best entertainment on the Las Vegas strip all week long en route to the program's first-ever Pac-12 Tournament Championship. Washington State, who was a No. 7 seed, became the lowest-seeded team to ever win the Pac-12 Tournament, as they knocked off No. 5-seed UCLA, 65-61, in the Pac-12 Championship Game last Sunday, defeating three nationally ranked teams in four days along the way.
The Athletic National Women's Basketball Coach of the Year is voted on by the publication's women's basketball writers which includes Chantel Jennings, Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, Shannon Ryan, Ben Pickman, Sabreena Merchant, and Dorothy J. Gentry. Ethridge received the most first-place votes in the poll with three to win the award over Virginia Tech's Kenny Brooks by a single point. Ethridge took home the honor over Brooks, South Carolina's Dawn Staley, Maryland's Brenda Frese, Notre Dame's Niele Ivey, UConn's Geno Auriemma, and Indiana's Teri Moren.
The Cougars' success this season runs deeper than their heater in Las Vegas, Washington State set a program record for most wins in a season, collecting 23 total wins so far in the 2022-23 season. WSU currently sits at 23-10 on the year and won nine Pac-12 Conference games this season, which is tied for the third-most Pac-12 wins in a season in program history.
Washington State has been able to find success both at home and on the road this season, as Cougars won nine games each at home and on the road. The nine road victories set a program record for most road wins in a season in program history. The Cougars collected a program record three road wins over ranked teams this season, collected wins at No. 21/18 Oregon (85-84 OT), at No. 19/14 Arizona (70-59), and at No. 17/16 UCLA, which gave Washington State its first-ever win at Pauley Pavilion. Those three, coupled with the three wins over No. 3/4-ranked Utah (66-58), No. 20/21 Colorado (61-49), and No. 19/17 UCLA (65-61) give WSU six wins over ranked teams this season. The six wins against ranked teams this season is a program record for most wins against ranked foes in a single season.
Ethridge, who was voted on by the media as the 2022 Pac-12 Coach of the Year, has elevated Washington State to new heights each season she has been on the sidelines in Pullman. Ethridge not only ended WSU's 30-year NCAA Tournament drought in 2020-21, but she will now take the program to an unprecedented third-straight NCAA Tournament this season after locking up the 2023 Pac-12 championship, which comes with an automatic bid into March Madness.
The head coach is currently 74-74 all-time at Washington State, while her 74 wins set a program record for most wins collected by a fifth-year coach. Ethridge is the first WSU coach in the NCAA era to post a .500 career winning season with the Cougars, as her current winning percentage of .500 is second only to Sue Durrant's .575 winning percentage set from 1972-82. Washington State has seen its win total increase every season under Ethridge's direction, winning nine games her first season in 2019-20 to now collecting a program-record 23 wins this season.
With the Pac-12's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament in hand, the Cougars will patiently wait out the week to find out who their opponent will be in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday for the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament will air at 5 p.m. PT this Sunday on ESPN.
For more information on the Washington State women's basketball team, follow @WSUCougarWBB on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
