Late Tuesday night, Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer announced her retirement in a surprise social media post. What wasn’t surprising was seeing Kate Paye named as VanDerveer’s successor.
Paye, 50, won an NCAA Tournament championship as a guard on VanDerveer’s Cardinal squad in 1992 and was an assistant coach when the Cardinal won the 2021 title. She’s been on Stanford’s staff since 2007, including the past eight seasons as an associate coach. VanDerveer will retire May 8 but will remain in the athletic department in an advisory role, the school said in a statement. Paye and the university are negotiating the contract.
Tara VanDerveer, the winningest head coach in NCAA history, announced her retirement after 38 seasons at Stanford.
In 45 years as a head coach, VanDerveer amassed a record 1,216 victories. pic.twitter.com/h7TNAR3D3k
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 10, 2024
Stanford has enjoyed sustained success during Paye’s tenure, advancing to the tournament title game three times and reaching the Final Four nine times.
Paye has been mainly tasked with overseeing defense and working with perimeter players. She has developed standouts such as Lexie Hull, Hannah Jump, Kiana Williams and Karlie Samuelson and was instrumental in recruiting Nneka Ogwumike, Chiney…
