10/16/2025
Last season gave us four coaches who made an immediate impact. Two were veterans stepping into new programs and changing the trajectory right away. Two were first-time head coaches who looked like seasoned pros from day one. All four enter this season with momentum, and each has a storyline worth watching.
✨Kim Caldwell (Tennessee):
Kim Caldwell wasted no time turning Tennessee into a problem again. After a record-setting one-year run at Marshall, she stepped into Knoxville and brought that same disruptive, high-possession style with her. The Lady Vols finished (24-10) in her debut, but the real statement came in how they played, with constant defensive pressure, fast pace, and a defined identity that the program had been missing.
Her work in the portal and on the recruiting trail has backed that up. She's building a roster for deep March runs. Tennessee is no longer in a holding pattern. Under Caldwell, they're operating with big-stage intent again.
✨Kayla Karius (Green Bay):
Stepping in for a legend at your alma mater can come with pressure — or you can do what Kayla Karius did and turn it into momentum. In her first season as a head coach, she led Green Bay to 29 wins and another NCAA Tournament berth, doing it with the same poise she had as a player there years ago.
Green Bay didn't look like a program adjusting to a new era. That speaks to how cleanly Karius translated her vision into results. Her teams don't get rattled, they don't beat themselves, and they Playzith a calm confidence that mirrors their coach.
✨ Jan Jensen (lowa):
Some coaches take over programs. Jan Jensen inherited a moment. Following Caitlin Clark's era at lowa is not a normal first-year coaching situation. It's a national spotlight job on day one. But Jensen approached it with methodically. She secured Villanova transfer Lucy Olsen to stabilize the lineup, and lowa turned in a 23-win season that included a top-five upset over USC and another NCAA Tournament second-round run.
Then she doubled down by pulling in high-level future talent, headlined by 2026 recruit Addie Deal and a top-10 commitment in McKenna Wolizcko for 2027. What could've been a reset year became a statement that lowa isn't done competing on a national level.
✨Kenny Brooks (Kentucky):
Kenny Brooks walked into a Kentucky program that had gone (24-39) across the previous two seasons and flipped the tone in one year. The Wildcats jumped to (23-8) in his first season, competing with a spark that hasn't been there in a while.
If you've followed Brooks' career, it fits the pattern. He lifted James Madison into a tournament regular, then took Virginia Tech to its first Final Four and 30-win season. Now he's doing in Lexington what he's done everywhere he's been — establish structure, build player belief, and win. And with three top-25 recruits on the way — the best recruiting class in program history — this looks like the beginning of a full-scale turnaround.
