ATLANTA – On Wednesday, the Naismith Awards announced that Vanderbilt women’s basketball head coach Shea Ralph was named to the 2025 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Watch List presented by AXIA Time.
It is the second time Ralph has been included on the Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Watch List. She is one of 15 coaches selected, while the fifth-year Vandy coach is one of four SEC women’s basketball head coaches on the list.
Ralph has guided Vanderbilt to a 24-3 overall record this season and a 10-3 mark in SEC play. The 24 wins this season are the most under Ralph, while it is the first time Vandy has won 24-plus games in a season since 2008-09, when it won 26. The 2025-26 team’s 24 victories are tied with the 2000-01 team for the fifth-most wins in a season in school history. The 2025-26 campaign also marks the third-straight 20-win season for the Dores, a first for the program since having 14-consecutive seasons with 20-plus victories from 1999-2013.
The fifth-year head coach has guided Vanderbilt back to the top five in both major women’s basketball polls this season for the first time since 2001-02. The Dores have been placed inside the top 10 for seven-straight weeks. It is the longest stretch in the top 10 for the Dores since a 20-week streak between the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons.
The Commodores are currently ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 6 in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll. The No. 5 ranking is the school’s highest since closing the 2001-02 season at No. 4. Vanderbilt holds a NET ranking of seven. The Dores were one of the four No. 1 seeds in the first NCAA Top 16 Committing Ranking.
Vandy opened the 2025-26 season by winning its first 20 games to set the school record for best start to a season. The 20-straight wins also set a school record for the longest winning streak in program history.
The No. 5/6-ranked Commodores host No. 16/18 Kentucky this Sunday in a top-20 matchup at Memorial Gymnasium. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT and airs live on ESPN2.
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