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The WNBA has produced coaches in charge of teams in the NCAA tournament. Dawn Staley is the most notable name on this list as she is one of the greatest players in league history and a three-time NCAA champion with South Carolina.
More and more former players have turned to coaching, whether as an assistant or head coach over the past decade. Last season, five ex-WNBA players coached teams in March Madness, but the number has gone down to four this year.
Adia Barnes' Arizona had a rough campaign and failed to make the tournament, while Candice Dupree's Tennessee State had a worse season.
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Let's look at the four women's college basketball coaches who previously played in the WNBA.
4 former WNBA players who now coach teams in 2025 March Madness
#1 - Dawn Staley | South Carolina Gamecocks
Dawn Staley played eight seasons in the WNBA, suiting up for the Charlotte Sting and Houston Comets. She was a six-time All-Star and was named to the league's 10th and 15th Anniversary Teams. Staley was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Memorial Hall of Fame as a player in 2013.
Before she took charge of South Carolina in 2008, Staley coached Temple for eight seasons and made six appearances in the NCAA tournament. She has cemented herself as one of the best coaches in women's college basketball, with three national titles with the Gamecocks and counting.
#2 - Niele Ivey | Notre Dame Fighting Irish
In addition to being the mother of NBA player Jaden Ivey, Niele Ivey was in the WNBA from 2001 to 2005. She played for the Indiana Fever, Detroit Shock and Phoenix Mercury. After her playing career ended, she started her coaching journey as an admin assistant at Xavier.
Ivey then served eight years as an assistant coach for her alma mater, Notre Dame. She was promoted to associate coach in 2015 before moving to the NBA as an assistant for the Memphis Grizzlies. However, she lasted just one season and returned to Notre Dame to become the Fighting Irish's coach in 2020.
#3 - Kara Lawson | Duke Blue Devils
Kara Lawson was the fifth overall pick of the 2003 WNBA draft, selected by the Detroit Shock. She was traded to the Sacramento Monarchs five days after getting drafted. Lawson won one championship in 2005, spending seven seasons in Sacramento.
After four years with Connecticut and two years with Washington, Lawson called it quits and went into coaching. She was hired by the Boston Celtics as an assistant in 2019 before leaving after one season to accept the coaching job at Duke.
#4 - Brooke Wyckoff | Florida State Seminoles
A second-round pick in the 2001 WNBA draft, Brooke Wyckoff lasted eight years in the league and played for three teams. She started with the Orlando Miracle, spending two years there before going to the Connecticut Sun for two more seasons. Her last four years were with the Chicago Sky from 2006 to 2009.
Two years after her playing career ended, Wyckoff returned to her alma mater and became an assistant at Florida State. She was promoted to associate coach in 2018 and served as an interim in the 2020-21 season. She returned to her associate coach role for one more campaign before finally taking over the program in 2022.
