GAINESVILLE – For the third time under athletic director Scott Stricklin, Florida women’s basketball will have a new coach.
Stricklin fired coach Kelly Rae Finley Monday, March 9, after five seasons on the job. Finley replaced Cameron Newbauer in July 2021 and led the team to an improbable NCAA Tournament run in her first season.
She never reached those highs again and after the program’s fourth-consecutive 15-loss season, Stricklin decided a change was needed.
The search now begins for the program’s next head coach. In the release announcing Finley’s firing, Stricklin emphasized that the university is committed to building “a women’s basketball program that consistently reaches the NCAA Tournament and competes among the top teams in the Southeastern Conference.”
However, a Gainesville Sun report indicated that Florida has been unwilling to dedicate the funds other SEC programs put into their programs. According to NCAA revenue reports, UF spent the least of the 15 public schools in the SEC on women’s basketball.
So, the next coach to don the Orange and Blue will walk into a tough situation. That limits the coaches who could be interested, unless increased financial support arrives. However, the success of programs this season — like Texas A&M and Georgia — coming out of nowhere shows it is possible to turn failure into success fast in the SEC.
Here are some names that could replace Finley as Florida women’s basketball coach, organized by tiers.
The ultimate
Yolett McPhee-McCuin, Ole Miss
“Coach Yo,” as she’s known by, is the most logical SEC coaching option for the Gators.
Stricklin isn’t going to want to hire the four coaches that finished below UF in the standings this season. Of course, the powerhouse names like Staley and Mulkey are off limits.
McPhee-McCuin turned the Rebels into one of the best SEC programs. In her eight seasons, she’s reached the NCAA Tournament four times (this year will be a fifth) and led the program to two Sweet 16s in 2023 and 2025.
However, she’s been critical of the program’s support – both financially and community wise.
After the Rebels beat, ironically enough, Florida in January 2024, she called out the fan support after Ole Miss drew less than 2,500 fans for that game.
This season improved to just under 4,000 per game, which still ranks in the bottom third in the conference. Of course, Florida is dead last.
That makes this hire unlikely, but Yo coached at Jacksonville University before Ole Miss. Stricklin, at least, needs to make the call in case she wants a change of scenery.
Major wins for Florida women’s basketball
Sean O’Regan, James Madison
Will Florida go the Sun Belt route like in football? If so, O’Regan is the best coach to grab. He’s led the Dukes to two Sun Belt regular season titles in 2023 and 2025. Last season, JMU finished 18-0 in conference play. It lost the NCAA Tournament bid to Arkansas State, though.
James Madison has also proved to be a nice jump point for future coaches. Kenny Brooks, O’Regan’s predecessor at JMU, led Virginia Tech to the Final Four.
Lindsay Edmonds, Rice
Jose Fernandez was, of course, the coach from the American Athletic Conference to grab. The Florida native turned USF into winners, but he accepted the Dallas Wings WNBA coaching job last fall.
That leaves Edmonds. She led the Owls to the NCAA Tournament in 2024, and the AAC’s regular season crown this year as she’s never had a losing season in Houston.
Vanessa Blair-Lewis, George Mason
Florida football fans might have had reservations about Jon Sumrall, and he’s tried to quell those concerns by informing fans he just wins.
Blair-Lewis can make the same argument. She led the Patriots to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2025 with a loss to Florida State as a No. 11 seed.
This season, GMU tied for the Atlantic 10 regular-season title and lost by two to Rhode Island in the A10 Championship game to prevent the program’s second consecutive tournament appearance.
Realistic names fans can be excited about
DeLisha Milton-Jones, Old Dominion
Will the greatest player in program history want to come home? Milton-Jones was a first team All-American and SEC Player of the Year in 1997 – the school’s only trip to the Elite Eight.
After a successful WNBA career, she took over at Old Dominion in 2020. Her success has not been abundant with no NCAA Tournament appearances, but she has consistently led the Monarchs to postseason play in the WNIT.
She understands the program, and what it takes to return it to a level of prominence. She can help fans harken back to a time where women’s basketball popped in Gainesville.
Tammi Reiss, Rhode Island
That brings us to the Rams’ head coach. Reiss has turned URI into the A10’s best team. She’s a three-time conference coach of the year and won two regular-season championships before finally leading Rhode Island to the tournament this season.
She played collegiately at Virginia in the early 1990s, where she teamed up with Dawn Staley.
Hana Haden, Georgia Southern
Perhaps no program has surprised more this year in the Sun Belt and among mid-majors than Georgia Southern. The Eagles overtook JMU, ODU and defending tournament champion Arkansas State to win the conference’s regular season title.
O’Regen’s experience at James Madison proved the difference in a semifinal upset of GSU, but she’s led the program to the top in just her second season.
She knows the region well and could fit in seamlessly with the increased resources at Florida.
Matt Wise, Samford
Let’s have some fun here. Yes, Matt Wise has just one year of Division I coaching experience. Yes, the Bulldogs finished 16-18.
But Samford just finished a magical run to win the Southern Conference Tournament with a victory over Chattanooga on Sunday.
And of course, saving the best for last, he’s the son of Mary Wise – the Florida volleyball coaching legend who retired after the 2024 season. Optically, bringing the Wise name back to UF campus is a good look for Stricklin.
Ayla Guzzardo, McNeese State
The best coach in the state of Louisiana over the last 10 years in pure terms of winning isn’t Kim Mulkey.
It’s Ayla Guzzardo.
Guzzardo turned Southeastern Louisiana into the Southland Conference’s best team. The Lady Lions reached the NCAA Tournament in 2023, won the Southland’s regular season title in 2025, and Guzzardo was a two-time conference coach of the year.
She moved to McNeese prior to the season, and took off right where she left off. The Cowgirls won the regular season title and will be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament later this week.
Megan Griffith, Columbia
The Lions have been the Ivy League powerhouse under Griffith and has made the Morningside Heights university a women’s basketball school.
The Lions won three straight Ivy regular season championships from 2023-2025. The latter two resulted in NCAA Tournament bids. The first in 2023 instead saw a run to the WNIT Championship.
Princeton stole the regular season title this season, but Columbia is in contention for an at-large bid – a rarity for a mid-major.
Noah Ram covers Florida Gators athletics and Gainesville-area high school sports for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him at nram@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X @Noah_ram1 and on Instagram @Ramreporter. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida women’s basketball coaching hot board to replace Kelly Rae Finley
Reporting by Noah Ram, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
