Coaching News: WashU makes huge hire, names Lisa Stone as head coach
Stone previously served as head coach at UW-Eau Claire, Drake, Wisconsin, and Saint Louis, Has 667 career wins
It took WashU some time to name its next head coach after the departure of Randi Henderson to Iowa. 57 days to be exact. With the academic year set to begin, and the 2024-25 season less than 80 days away, questions persisted over the last several weeks about the path the athletic department would take, considering it seemed far too late in the summer to hire away a head coach from another program.
On Thursday morning, those questions were answered with a monumental hire, as WashU announced Lisa Stone as the program’s next leader. Stone’s 667-375 record over 36 years as a head coach speaks for itself.
Stone, who most recently led the Saint Louis University (D1) program until 2022, has excelled at virtually every place she’s been, posting an overall record of above .500 in all five of her previous head coaching stops. Those being: Cornell College (D3) (1985-1988), UW-Eau Claire (D3) (1988-2000), Drake (D1) (2000-2003), Wisconsin (D1) (2003-2011), and Saint Louis (D1) (2012-2022).
Her accomplished resume fits WashU perfectly, considering her experience competing in top-tier leagues in the Big Ten and the WIAC, along with her ability to recruit at a high level, and knowledge of the local talent considering she spent 10 years coaching just seven minutes from the WashU campus.
"Coach Stone's arrival marks an exciting new chapter for our women's basketball program, and I am certain her leadership will inspire not only our scholar-champions but also our broader university community,” said Anthony J. Azama, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and the John M. Schael Director of Athletics, in a press release. “I am grateful for the search committee, Nancy Fahey and our university leadership, Chancellor Martin and Vice Chancellor Gonzalez for their support throughout this process."
Speaking of Fahey, there are multiple connections between Stone and the famed WashU head coach who won five NCAA titles while guiding the Bears. As )@HilltopperBlog pointed out on X/Twitter, both Fahey and Stone played point guard while growing up in Wisconsin and faced each other throughout high school, living in towns that were 20 miles apart. They continued playing against each other at the college level in the Big Ten, as Fahey went to Wisconsin and Stone attended Iowa.
But it didn’t stop there. As head coaches, with Fahey at WashU and Stone leading UW-Eau Claire, they battled in the 1994 Final Four. The Bears emerged with a 86-82 overtime win over the Blugolds in the semifinals, and WashU finished as the national runner-up while UWEC won the third-place game over Wheaton (MA).
The second meeting came in 2000, when WashU and UWEC went toe-to-toe in a sectional semifinal. WashU came away with an 81-63 win, and went on to claim its third consecutive national championship in a dominant win over Southern Maine.
They met again as head coaches a year later in 2001 in the second round of the NCAAs. WashU also won that contest, and later that tournament, won an unprecedented fourth straight national title—a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since.
"I am excited for the next chapter of Bear Basketball under Coach Lisa Stone's leadership,” Fahey was quoted as saying in the WashU press release. “Experienced at all levels of our game, she brings a special combination of knowledge and energy to the program. I had the unique experience of playing Lisa's team during her time at UW-Eau Claire several years ago. Her teams were well-coached and they played with a special intensity. Lisa is a person of high integrity. The program is in good hands."
Stone took UWEC to the NCAA Tournament in 11 of her 12 seasons at the helm, including four Elite Eights and two Final Fours. When she made the jump to the D1 level at Drake, her record at UWEC stood at 277-59. Not surprisingly, Stone was part of the WIAC Hall of Fame’s inaugural class, having taken a program with one winning season prior to her arrival to the national title game in 1997.
In two of her three years at Drake, Stone led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament. In 2002, her second season, Drake reached the Sweet 16 as a No. 7 seed, having stunned No. 2 seed Baylor in the second round. It was the first time since 1982 that Drake advanced three rounds into the national tournament.
She then took on a tough challenge at Wisconsin, and went 128-119 with the Badgers in eight season. That included an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2010, and four trips to the WNIT.
Stone made four more appearances in the WNIT with Saint Louis, as the Billikens finished in the Top 3 in the Atlantic 10 Conference on three occasions. In addition to the postseason appearances, Stone led SLU to 15 wins in her third season on campus, the first time in 12 seasons the Billikens reached the 15-win mark. She also recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons in 2015-16 and 2016-17, with the program claiming its first-ever A10 regular season title in 2016.
Needless to say, WashU made an exceptional hire. And I’m glad to see it, considering the potential this year’s squad has. With playmaking guard Jessica Brooks using her fifth year of eligibility, center Lexi Harris poised for a impactful sophomore year, and virtually the entire main rotation from 2023-24 back, this feels like a team that can certainly contend with NYU for the UAA title. Having an experienced head coach like Stone leading the charge will only add to WashU’s momentum entering this season.
Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly, who has 777 career wins and has guided Iowa State’s program since 1995, had this to say of Stone’s hiring at WashU, per the WashU press release:
"WashU is one of the most respected programs in the country and they found the perfect coach in Lisa Stone. I have known Lisa for a long time and there are few people I respect more. Coach Stone is an amazing leader who will impact not just the women's basketball program but the entire University community.
More recent coaching changes
Wooster: Muskingum assistant Olivia Besancon has been named Wooster’s next head coach. She was a 1,000-point scorer for Muskingum as a player, and as a coach, has also spent time at Malone University (D2), and Heidelberg (D3). She served as an assistant coach at Muskingum for the last three seasons.
Delaware Valley: Head coach Laura Hogan resigned on Monday following 28 seasons on the sidelines at DVU. A 1990 graduate, she leaves DVU as the longest-tenured coach in any sport in the athletic department’s history. Hogan won 321 games in her career and took the Aggies to the MAC Freedom playoffs 11 times.
Saint Mary’s (IN): Rob Hoffman, who was Trine’s associate head coach since 2021, accepted the head coaching job on August 13. He began his coaching career as a student at Trine in 2013, and joined the staff full-time in 2017 following one year as a grad assistant with Florida State men’s basketball. Since 2017, Trine won the MIAA regular season crown four times and made five trips to the NCAA Tournament.
University of Dallas: Tarike Adams, formerly an assistant coach with Colorado College’s men’s basketball program, has been named UDallas’ head coach.