Gators Women’s Basketball: Who Can Replace Kelly Rae Finley?
A national search has begun in Gainesville.
Florida announced on Monday its decision to part ways with women’s head basketball coach Kelly Rae Finley. During her time at Florida, Finley and the Gators finished with a 93-75 overall record and 30-50 in SEC play. The team appeared in just one NCAA tournament under Finley when she was the Gators’ interim head coach during the 2021-22 season.
The question now: Who will Florida hire to replace Finley?
Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin will need to hire a coach who will consistently make the Gators a top contender in the SEC and reach the NCAA tournament to maintain the school’s assertion as an “Everything School.”
Here are five candidates Florida could look at for the head coach job.
Yolett McPhee-McCuin
Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, also known as “Coach Yo,” is a reasonable candidate for the job.
She began her head coach experience at Jacksonville, where she led the team to its first ASUN Championship title, as well as an NCAA tournament berth. She completed three straight 20-win seasons during her final three years.
At Ole Miss in 2018, she inherited a team that had gone 1-15 in SEC play the season before she arrived. Since taking over in 2018, she has led the Rebels to five straight 20-win seasons and five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Ole Miss has also become one of the toughest defensive teams in the country under her leadership and reached the Sweet 16 in 2023 and 2025.
This season, Ole Miss received the 7th seed in the SEC Tournament and made the semifinals.
Pulling her away from Oxford would not be easy. McPhee-McCuin reportedly earns more than $1 million annually. Still, if Florida increases the salary for its women’s head coach and could persuade McPhee-McCuin to jump ship, she would be a slam-dunk hire.
Sam Purcell
Another SEC coach who could draw interest is Mississippi State’s Sam Purcell. Purcell has quickly built a winning program in Starkville. In his first three seasons as a head coach, he led the Bulldogs to three straight 20-win seasons and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
He owns an 85-48 record and has developed a reputation as one of the conference’s top recruiters, signing a top-10 national recruiting class during his tenure.
Before Mississippi State, Purcell succeeded as an assistant at Louisville and Georgia Tech. The Auburn alum earns roughly $700,000 annually, similar to what Finley made at Florida. If the university chooses to pursue him, he would likely be a more realistic option than McPhee-McCuin.
Vanessa Blair-Lewis
If Florida looks to the mid-major ranks, George Mason coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis may be the most compelling prospect.
Blair-Lewis has spent more than two decades building successful programs. She coached at Mount St. Mary’s and Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Florida, before taking over at George Mason in 2021.
Her impact in Fairfax has been dramatic. In four seasons, she transformed a team that went 3-27 and was winless in conference play in 2020-21 into Atlantic 10 champions with an NCAA Tournament berth.
Blair-Lewis has led George Mason to three straight 20-win seasons and owns a 415-360 career record. Earlier in her career, she guided Mount St. Mary’s to two regular-season championships and led Bethune-Cookman to four regular-season titles, along with a conference tournament championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance. Her accolades include NEC Coach of the Year at Mount St. Mary’s and MEAC Coach of the Year honors four times at Bethune-Cookman.
The job at Florida would be a step up in her coaching career. For the Gators, pursuing Blair-Lewis could offer a more affordable route while still bringing in a veteran coach with a long track record of winning.
DeLisha Milton-Jones
Could Old Dominion head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones add to her resume as a Gator great?
Milton-Jones played with Florida for four years, where she earned SEC Player of the Year, a First-Team All-American accolade, and a Wade Trophy Recipient during her senior season. As head coach at Old Dominion, she has not appeared in any NCAA Tournaments, but she has seen success in the Sun Belt Conference.
Lindsay Edmonds
Rice coach Lindsay Edmonds is another rising mid-major name.
Edmonds took over the Owls in 2021 after serving as an assistant at NC State and has since guided Rice to a conference championship and an NCAA Tournament berth. This season, the Owls went 27-4 and captured a regular-season title. Edmonds earned American Coach of the Year honors, holding a 100-58 career record.
Hana Haden
Hana Haden, head coach at Georgia Southern, has seen a lot of development in her second season with the team.
In her first season, she finished 16-18 overall and 6-12 in conference play. This season, Haden has coached the Eagles to the top of the Sun Belt. Georgia Southern took the regular season title, finishing the season 23-7 overall and 16-2 in conference.
Sean O’Regan
2025 Sun Belt Coach of the Year Sean O’Regan has consistently put James Madison amongst the top teams in the conference. O’Regan has coached the Dukes to two Sun Belt Championship titles, including this season. Last season, the team went 18-0 in conference play.
No matter who the Gators choose, they will have to meet the standard Florida has set.
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Women's Basketball, Women's College Basketball
