HOPEWELL, N.J. (March 6, 2025) — We are proud to announce the five finalists for the 2025 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. This is the award's second season, named after the legendary former Harvard head coach. Gonzaga's Lisa Fortier won the inaugural award. This year's list includes coaches from three conferences: Atlantic 10, Ivy League, and MAAC.
 
Mid-Major Coach of the Year Finalists (Alphabetical by School)
Megan Griffith, Columbia
Carly Thibault-DuDonis, Fairfield
Vanessa Blair-Lewis, George Mason
Carrie Moore, Harvard
Aaron Roussell, Richmond
 
The Blair-Lewis File
Vanessa Blair-Lewis is one of the most successful coaches in George Mason history after just four season at the helm. In her time, she's taken a team that won zero conference games and three total games to a 24-win team, two-seed in the Atlantic 10 tournament, and is a two-time Mid-Major Coach of the Year Finalist.
 
This season, Blair-Lewis has led the Patriots to their winningest regular season (24 wins) and tied the most conference wins (14) in a single season, a record she set the year before. The Green & Gold have set numerous other records this season, including the longest winning streak (11 games), highest NET ranking (40^th), and the first back-to-back 20-win seasons. Blair-Lewis has also coached two A-10 Most Improved Players, one A-10 Rookie of the Year, two All-Conference First Team members, two All-Conference Second Team members, one All-Conference Third Team member, three All-Rookie Team members, and one All-Defensive Team member at George Mason. 

Award Eligibility & Schedule
To be eligible for the award, coaches must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be "mid-major." The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Additionally, Oregon State and Washington State are ineligible this year as membership in the Pac-12 Conference evolves. Interim head coaches are eligible, although total games coached will be taken into consideration.

The 20-person preseason watch list was announced in October. The 10 members of the midseason watch list were announced in January. The winner is scheduled to be announced on April 3. Coaches will be assessed throughout the entire season, including postseason play. Beyond on-court success, other factors such as recruiting, preseason expectations, injuries, and tactical coaching will also be weighed when assessing each candidate. Inclusion on previous watch lists is not a requirement to be considered for future watch lists.

About Kathy Delaney-Smith
Delaney-Smith's Harvard teams compiled a record of 630-434 (.592) in her 40-year career, including a 367-168 (.685) record in Ivy League play. Delaney-Smith's 630 wins rank 32nd in Division I history, and ninth among coaches who spent their entire career with a single team. Delaney-Smith led her teams to six NCAA Tournament appearances and nine WNIT appearances, plus three Ivy League titles before the NCAA Tournament awarded automatic bids to the Ivy League champion. She has coached eight Ivy League Player of the Year recipients, six Ivy League Rookie of the Year winners, and all 22 of Harvard's 1,000-point scorers in the program's NCAA Division I history.
Delaney-Smith was inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1986, becoming the first woman to ever be inducted, with more than three decades of her career still ahead of her. She was also inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. A native of Newton, Mass., Delaney-Smith is also among the most accomplished high school players and coaches in the state's history. She was the first woman in state history to score 1,000 points while at Sacred Heart High School. As a high school coach, Delaney-Smith coached Westwood High School to an overall record of 204-31 across 11 seasons, including a 96-game winning streak.

About Her Hoop Stats
Her Hoop Stats was founded in 2017 to unlock better insight about women's basketball at all levels. We began as a statistics site focused on providing consistent, reliable, and easy-to-access data about women's basketball for both mobile and desktop environments. Her Hoop Stats has expanded to become a leading independent voice in the women's game providing content through our newsletter, podcast network, YouTube channel, and social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).