It’s seems UConn head coach Geno Auriemma’s Final Four tantrum unleashed a wave of chaos across women’s college basketball that crested on Saturday.
Two head coaches who lead their teams to expectations-exceeding seasons are out. A coach who had just accepted an assistant coaching position at a high-profile program is instead set for a mid-major head coaching opportunity. And two top recruits in the class of 2026, including one ranked No. 1 by some evaluators, asked out of their commitments. Plus, the portal is still popping with new entires.
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Here’s a breakdown of seismic Saturday in women’s college basketball.
Coach Abe and Coach Mox are out at UGA and UVA
During the first-round NCAA Tournament game between No. 7-seed Georgia and No. 10-seed Virginia, the ESPN broadcast detailed the friendship between head coaches Katie Abrahamson-Henderson of UGA and Amaka Aguga-Hamilton of UVA, even revealing that Coach Abe was one of Coach Mox’s bridesmaids.
Now, the two might have more ignominious shared story, as both are out of those jobs, despite leading the Bulldogs and Cavaliers to more successful seasons than expected.
At Georgia, the decision on Abrahamson-Henderson’s has been described as a mutual parting of ways, although it is unclear if that’s semantics or an accurate description of the actual circumstance.
In her fourth season, Abrahamson-Henderson took her team to the NCAA Tournament for the second time, with a 22-10 record, including an 8-8 mark in the SEC, securing the Dawgs a No. 7-seed. Georgia also snuck into the AP Top 25 poll for the first time in Coach Abe’s tenure, rising as high as No. 22 and finishing the season at No. 24. Along the way, the Bulldogs scored three-ranked wins over SEC foes: then-No. 16 Ole Miss, then-No. 11 Kentucky and then-No. 5 Vanderbilt.
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Georgia’s NCAA Tournament performance could be considered a blemish, as the Bulldogs were the only single-digit seed to lose to a double-digit seed in the first round. Her management of that game—playing a tight rotation that led to players appearing to run out of gas in overtime—could be criticized. However, considering just making the tournament was an overachievement, ousting her seems like an overreaction, barring any behind-the-scenes issues that are not public.
However, Aguga-Hamilton’s exit from Charlottesville seems even more inexplicable—at least on the surface. Reporting from USA TODAY’s Mitchell Northam revealed that Coach Mox had been accused of staff mistreatment, which led to an internal investigation.
The allegations stain what was a successful season, as Coach Mox not only led the Cavaliers to the tournament for the first time since 2018, but she also guided them from the First Four to the Sweet 16, with the No. 10 seed becoming the first First Four team to reach the Sweet 16. Overall, UVA finished the season with a 22-12 record and an 11-7 record in the ACC, which included an upset of then-No. 8 Louisville.
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Lazo leaps from Tennessee to LSU to UCF
Gabo Lazo, formerly the lead recruiter for head coach Kim Caldwell at Tennessee, had joined the staff of head coach Kim Mulkey at LSU, filling the void left by Gary Redus, now the head coach at Rutgers.
His time in Baton Rouge, however, was extremely short-lived, as he will fill the job held by Coach Abe before she jumped to Georgia: UCF. On Friday, the program fired Sytia Messer, who has succeeded Abrahamason-Henderson and struggled to find success over four seasons.
As reported by Northam, Lazo, who is Cuban and from Miami, had had his eyes on the UCF position, as the more than 30 percent of the UCF student population is of Hispanic heritage.
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When asked by the New Orleans Advocate about Lazo leaving, Mulkey expressed no ill will, saying, “I’m so happy for Gabe. How could you not be happy for someone to be a head coach for the first time and to do it in his home state?”
Where will Big Oh go?
Lazo’s activity implicates major recruit news.
Oliviyah Edwards, the No. 2-ranked recruit in the class of 2026 in ESPN’s SportsCenter NEXT 100, was not shy about recognizing Lazo’s role in her decision to commit to Tennessee, going so far as to post a picture of her and Lazo on her Instagram stories when the very rocky season on Rocky Top inspired speculation about whether she would still sign with the program.
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Lazo’s departure only fueled such speculation.
And now, it’s official, as Edwards has asked out of her commitment. We now wait for the next move from dunking 6-foot-3 forward from Washington state. During her initial recruitment, Edwards also strongly considered USC, South Carolina, LSU, Florida and Washington.
Another five-star recruit also requested a release from her commitment, with Trinity Jones, a 6-foot-1 guard who is ranked as the No. 11 recruit by ESPN, opting out of attending Clemson. Jones originally chose Clemson over LSU, Tennessee and UCLA.
Will more chaos shake women’s college basketball?
It seems likely that this tidal wave of tumult will continue to sweep across the sport.
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The departures of Abrahamson-Henderson and Coach Mox have already influenced player movement decisions, with Dani Carnegie leading the exodus out of Athens and Sa’Myah Smith announcing her intention to again enter the portal. Kymora Johnson has yet to give any indication about her future.
The new hires at UGA and UVA surely will cause a cascade of more changes, both on the coach and player movement fronts. We’ll also see what kind of pull Lazo might have a UCF.
The situations at Iowa State, where head coach Bill Fennelly has been endorsed by the athletic director, despite the impending departure of 10 Cyclones, including Audi Crooks, and Tennessee, where assistant coach Roman Tubner was fired and a lone Lady Vol remains on the roster, will be monitored particularly closely.
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Already, other notable players who have signaled that they plan to explore different opportunities, headlined by Maryland’s Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu and USC’s Malia Samuels.
If you dare, share what you think might happen next in the comments.