The coaches behind the last five basketball national champions
Dawn Staley, Kim Mulkey, and Tara VanDerveer all elevated their team's to the highest levels in the last five years.
In another sport, we might profile the five title-winning coaches from the last five years. Women’s college basketball is much more dynastic. Five of the last eight titles have been claimed by South Carolina’s Dawn Staley or LSU’s Kim Mulkey. 5wins will take you through the coaches of the last five championships from Staley’s most recent victory, to Mulkey’s 2019 Baylor Bears.
Dawn Staley - 2024
South Carolina has many great championship teams over the course of Dawn Staley’s tutelage, but 2024 was the crowning achievement over them all. Armed with a hilariously stacked roster of 14 former five star recruits, the Gamecocks went 38-0 en route to their national title. In the national championship, Iowa opened 10-0 behind an incandescent Caitlin Clark who dropped 18 first quarter points. MiLaysia Fulwiley came storming off the bench and to help South Carolina, and the depth of the Gamecocks proved too overwhelming. Slowly Iowa’s lead disappeared and Tessa Johnson pulled Staley’s unit further and further away.
Kim Mulkey - 2023
Mulkey moved from Baylor to LSU in 2021, and quickly began building a strong roster with the advantage in resources that LSU holds. Over the next two years, Mulkey brought in the number one recruiting class, top Junior College transfer Last-Tear Poa fresh off a national title, and a sophomore forward named Angel Reese. When the 22-23 season rolled around, the Tigers had gone from a punchline to a super team.
Reese led the team, averaging 23 points and more than 15 rebounds per game. Steely fifth-year Alexis Morris set the tempo and took care of the guard scoring. The rest slotted into their roles, sacrificing for Mulkey’s defensive and rebounding excellence.
In the final against Caitlin Clark’s Iowa, LSU went back and forth through a competitive first quarter. The Tigers' greater depth and energy proved overwhelming in the second quarter, when the bench spearheaded a run that they never looked back from. Grad Transfer Jasmine Carson dropped a handful of big three-pointers in Clark’s face, spearheading the Tigers to their lead and victory.
You can argue that LSU’s win over Iowa helped bring women’s college basketball to a whole new level.
Colorful suits, Colorful words, or a collective of top recruits, Kim Mulkey is always going to bring a disciplined, relentless unit.
Dawn Staley - 2022
Aliyah Boston, Destanni Henderson and Zia Cooke led a balanced team to the title in 2022. They would sprint out to an 11-2 lead against Geno Auriema’s UConn in the final, off of five offensive rebounds in the first four minutes. South Carolina never lost the lead from there, briefly coming within single digits during the second quarter.
Staley’s teams are deep and battle-tested when they reach a final, in spite of the conspicuous lack of dents on the way.
Tara Vanderveer - 2021
When Tara VanderVeer retired at the end of the 2024 season, she was the all-time NCAA leader in wins after 35 years at Stanford and had three national titles. The process of claiming her third title would be no picnic. Stanford opened the season ranked No. 1, and managed to hold it for eight weeks. Back to back losses in January to unranked Colorado and No. 6 UCLA dropped them, but the Cardinal would not stumble again before the finish line. Stanford spread their scoring around, with no player averaging more than 15 points per game.. Sophomore Haley Jones led the team in scoring and a freshman Cameron Brink played big in the middle. Against Arizona, VanderVeer and Stanford lifted the trophy for the first time in 29 years. h. She may have called it a COVID Championship in her post game comments, but 4 years later it doesn’t matter. All the record books say is Tara VanderVeer: 1990, 1992, 2021.
Kim Mulkey - 2019
Kim Mulkey’s Hall of Fame plaque was old enough to vote when the Baylor Bears won their third national championship in 2019. The lone mark against Mulkey’s unit came in a December non-conference game, where a second half push wasn’t enough to come back against Tara VanDerveer’s Stanford. They announced their arrival in early January, unseating No. 1 UConn and not looking back. The tournament run was a gauntlet after the first round; Cal, South Carolina, Iowa, Oregon, with defending champions Notre Dame waiting in the Final. The Fighting Irish and Bears traded blows for three quarters, before a left knee injury struck down key Baylor junior Lauren Cox.
With the game tied at 78, senior Transfer Chloe came up around the screen and buried a mid-range to give the Bears the 80-78 lead. They’d give the tie back to the Irish the next play, fouling on a layup. Mulkey kept it simple in her timeout in spite of a tie game with 16 seconds on the clock; The inbound pass is a simple direct one to Chloe Jackson. Points 25 and 26 put Baylor back in the lead with four seconds left. Notre Dame called their final timeout first, and then set up their inbounds play. Baylor calls their last timeout, allowing Mulkey to both ice the Notre Dame team and see what formation and personnel they came out in. Muffet McGraw draws up a junk play, where Arike Ogunbowale fakes the lift and spins to receive a left sided post up, going toward the basket. Obgunbowale is fouled on the attempt. With the chance to tie, Obgunbowale missed her first free throw, and the rest was history.
So What?
What do these three championship teams all have in common? Well first: all three have a hall of fame head coach with a great legacy and a mandate from their athletic department. Second: these teams had starting level Division I players eight and nine deep on the roster. Third: The out and out best player was not the catalyst for the victory.
What does that mean for your brackets? The teams to trust are those with depth, multiple options, and a respected and empowered coach.