Geno Auriemma Headlines 2023 Women's College Coach of the Year Late-Season Contenders

Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma is among the 15 potential candidates for the 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year award.

Other candidates cited by the Atlanta Tipoff Club include South Carolina's Dawn Staley, LSU's Kim Mulkey, Indiana's Teri Moren and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer.

Here's the full list of candidates on the late-season watchlist:

• Geno Auriemma, Connecticut
• Dawn Staley, South Carolina
• Kim Mulkey, LSU
• Teri Moren, Indiana
• Tara VanDerveer, Stanford
• Lisa Bluder, Iowa
  
• Kenny Brooks, Virginia Tech
• Denise Dillon, Villanova
• Lisa Fortier, Gonzaga
• Shauna Green, Illinois
• Niele Ivey, Notre Dame
• Kara Lawson, Duke
• Kevin McGuff, Ohio State
• JR Payne, Colorado
• Lynne Roberts, Utah

An eight-time winner of the Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year award, Auriemma recently had to navigate a situation the Huskies haven't been in for 30 years. They lost back-to-back games against South Carolina on Feb. 5 and Providence on Feb. 8.

It was the first time UConn lost consecutive games since March 1993. The Huskies did avoid a third straight loss with a 67-59 victory over Georgetown on Saturday. They are still ranked No. 6 in the nation with a 22-4 overall record and high-profile wins over Texas and Iowa.

Staley has dominated this award recently with two wins in the past three years, including for the 2021-22 season. She led the Gamecocks to the national championship and a school-record 35 victories last year.

Things are lining up for Staley to be the favorite again this year. South Carolina is the nation's lone remaining unbeaten team (25-0) and coming off a dominant 88-64 victory over previously unbeaten LSU on Sunday.

Mulkey's only previous Naismith Women's Coach of the Year award was during the 2011-12 season at Baylor. She sparked an immediate turnaround at LSU with a 26-6 record in her first season at the school in 2021-22.

This season has seen the Tigers take another significant step forward. They were 23-0 before falling at South Carolina.

VanDerveer is the only coach besides Staley who has won the award in the past three seasons. The Stanford leader took home the honor after guiding her team to a 31-2 record and a national title during the 2020-21 season.

The Cardinal are currently ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll with a 24-3 record. Their final four regular-season games are against teams ranked in the top 25, including a marquee showdown against fellow Naismith watchlister Lynne Roberts and No. 4 Utah at Huntsman Center on Feb. 25.

Indiana's Teri Moren has slowly built the program into a national powerhouse. This is the eighth consecutive year it has won at least 20 games in the regular season. The Hoosiers' 24 wins this season are tied for the most in school history with the 2019-20 squad.

The last person other than Staley or VanDerveer to be honored as the Naismith Women's Coach of the Year was Iowa's Lisa Bluder in 2018-19. She is in the mix to win it a second time with the Hawkeyes owning a 20-5 record and the No. 7 spot in the AP Top 25.

A list of 10 semifinalists for the Werner Ladder Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year award will be announced on March 8. The winner will be revealed on March 29 ahead of the Women's Final Four at American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas.