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 first 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 fourth-year Vandy coach is one of six SEC women’s basketball head coaches on the list.
Ralph has guided Vanderbilt to a 19-7 overall record this season. Vanderbilt is on the cusp of its second-straight 20-win campaign, which would mark the first time since the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons that the Dores posted back-to-back 20-win seasons. She has Vanderbilt in the position to make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament, as the Commodores have been ranked for multiple weeks this season and currently hold a NET ranking of 23.
Vanderbilt women’s basketball has seen a revitalization in four seasons under Ralph’s direction. Last year, she led the Dores back to March Madness for the first time in 10 seasons, where they collected a victory in the First Four Round over Columbia. Ralph is 70-55 through four seasons at Vanderbilt, with one NCAA Tournament and WNIT berth each. The Commodores went 23-10 in 2023-24 to post their first 20-win campaign since 2012-13. She also guided Vandy to six SEC road wins last year, which set a program record for most conference road wins in a single season.
The Commodores continue their brief two-game SEC road trip on Thursday, as Vanderbilt travels to No. 16/17 Oklahoma. Tipoff against the Sooners is set for 6 p.m. and streams live on SEC Network+.
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