Kelly Rae Finley

Last updated
Kelly Rae Finley
Current position
TitleHead coach
Team Florida
Conference SEC
Record56–41 (.577)
Biographical details
Born (1985-04-27) April 27, 1985 (age 38)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Playing career
2004–2005 Northwestern
2006–2008 Colorado State
Position(s) Forward
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2008–2009 Harvard (volunteer assistant)
2009–2012Harvard (assistant)
2012–2016 Colorado (assistant)
2016–2017 Arizona (assistant)
2017–2021 Florida (assistant)
2021–presentFlorida
Head coaching record
Overall56–41 (.577)

Kelly Rae Finley (born April 27, 1985) is an American basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the Florida Gators women's basketball team. [1] An assistant coach for the Gators from 2017 to 2021, she served as the interim head coach of the Gators for the 2021-22 season and was hired as the 11th head coach of the program following the regular season. Prior to her tenure at the University of Florida, she was an assistant coach with Harvard, Colorado, and Arizona.

Contents

Biography

Finley grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota and attended the Breck School, where she played basketball under her father, Ray Finley, and led the team to the Minnesota Class 2A State Championship as a senior in 2004. [2]

After attending Northwestern for her freshman season in 2004–05, Finley transferred to Colorado State University and played for the Rams from 2005 to 2008. [2]

Coaching career

Finley began her coaching career as a volunteer assistant with Harvard for the 2008–09 season. She became a fulltime assistant from 2009 to 2012. She followed up with coaching stints at Colorado from 2012 to 2016 and Arizona for the 2016–17 season. She served as a recruiting coordinator at all three schools. [3] In 2017, she joined Florida's staff under new head coach Cameron Newbauer. She was promoted to associate head coach in 2019. [4]

Following allegations of player mistreatment, Newbauer resigned as head coach abruptly on September 27, 2021. Finley was named the interim head coach for the 2021-22 season. Despite the preseason turmoil surrounding Newbauer's departure and expectations that the Gators would finish 11th in the Southeastern Conference, [5] the season ended with the Gators exceeding expectations to finish 4th in the conference and earning an NCAA tournament berth for the first time since 2016. Finley was given the permanent head coaching position on February 28, 2022. [6]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Florida Gators (Southeastern Conference)(2021–Present)
2021–22 Florida 21–1110–6T–4th NCAA first round
2022–23 Florida 19–155–11T–10th WNIT Great 8
2023–24 Florida 16–155–1111th WBIT
Florida:56–41 (.577)20–28 (.417)
Total:56–41 (.577)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Gators</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Florida

The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as the "Gator Nation." The Gators compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and are consistently ranked among the top college sports programs in the United States. The University of Florida currently fields teams in nine men's sports and twelve women's sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanda Butler</span> American college basketball coach and former player

Amanda Kay Butler is an American college basketball coach and former player. In 2018, Butler was hired as the head coach of the Clemson Tigers women's basketball team. Prior to that, she was the head coach for the Florida Gators women's basketball team and the Charlotte 49ers women's basketball team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brenda Frese</span> American basketball player and coach

Brenda Sue Frese is an American women's basketball head coach and former player. Since 2002, she has served as the head coach of the University of Maryland women's basketball team. In her fourth year as head coach, she won the 2006 Women's National Championship. She won the 2009 ACC Regular Season and Tournament Championships – the women's first ACC Championship since 1989. She won another ACC Championship in 2012 and reached another Final Four in 2014. Maryland moved to the Big Ten for the 2014–15 season and Frese led the Terrapins to an undefeated 18–0 conference record and a Big Ten Regular Season Championship in their first year in the Big Ten. The Terrapins advanced to their second straight Final Four and third under Frese in 2015. She was voted AP National Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2021, ACC Coach of the Year in 2013, Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2002, 2015, 2019, and 2021, and MAC Coach of the Year in 2000. At Maryland, she's coached four ACC Players of the Year and four ACC Freshmen of the Year.

LaMurriel Page is a former American college and professional basketball player who was a forward and center in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for eleven seasons. Page played college basketball for the University of Florida, and was drafted in the first round of the 1998 WNBA draft. She played professionally for the Washington Mystics and the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA. Currently, she is an assistant women's basketball coach at Mississippi State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado State Rams</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Colorado State University

The Colorado State Rams are the athletic teams that represent Colorado State University (CSU). Colorado State's athletic teams compete along with 8 other institutions in the Mountain West Conference, which is an NCAA Division I conference and sponsors Division I FBS football. The Conference was formed in 1999, splitting from the former 16-member Western Athletic Conference. CSU has won nine MWC tournament championships and won or shared 11 regular season titles. Rams football teams won or shared the Mountain West title in 1999, 2000 and 2002.

Bridget Pettis was an Assistant Coach of the Chicago Sky Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) professional basketball team. She is an American former college and professional basketball player who was a guard in the WNBA for eight seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Pettis played college basketball for the University of Florida, and professionally for the Phoenix Mercury and the Indiana Fever of the WNBA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolyn Peck</span> American basketball player, coach, sports broadcaster

Carolyn Arlene Peck is an American television sportscaster and former college basketball coach. She was the head coach for the women's basketball teams of Purdue University and the University of Florida, and also the first head coach-general manager in the history of the WNBA's Orlando Miracle. Peck was also an associate head coach for her alma mater, Vanderbilt University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Gators women's basketball</span>

The Florida Gators women's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gators play their home games at the O'Connell Center located on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, and are currently led by head coach Kelly Rae Finley, following the resignation of Cameron Newbauer. The Gators have appeared in 15 NCAA tournaments, with a record of 12–15.

Rebecca Lund Burleigh is an American soccer coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maine Black Bears women's ice hockey</span> College ice hockey team

The Maine Black Bears women’s ice hockey team represents the University of Maine. The team plays their home games in Alfond Arena. The team's first year of play was in 1997–98. The Black Bears finished 6th in the 2019-2020 season, advancing to the semi-finals of the Hockey East tournament, before losing to the eventual champions Northeastern Huskies by a score of 1-3. The 2020 Hockey East women's ice hockey tournament was cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak, but Maine would not have qualified even if the tournament had been played. Hockey East announced plans in July 2020 to play the 2020-2021 hockey season, with an emphasis on league play.

Carol Ross is an American college and professional basketball coach. Ross has served as the head women's basketball coach for the University of Florida and the University of Mississippi, and also as the head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

Cameron Michael Newbauer is an American college basketball coach. He most recently was the former head coach of the women's basketball program at the University of Florida from 2017 through 2021.

The 2017–18 Florida Gators women's basketball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of basketball during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Gators competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gators, led by first-year head coach Cameron Newbauer, played their home games in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. They finished the season 11–19, 3–13 in SEC play to finish in a 3 tie for eleventh place. They lost in the first round of the SEC women's tournament to Ole Miss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Napier</span> American football coach (born 1979)

William Hall Napier is an American football coach currently serving as head coach at the University of Florida. From 2017 until 2021, he served as head coach at the University of Louisiana, amassing a 40–12 record in four seasons with three consecutive 10+ win seasons and two seasons finishing in the AP Poll, both firsts in the programs' history. Prior to Louisiana, he served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arizona State University in 2017.

The 2018–19 Florida Gators women's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gators, led by second-year head coach Cameron Newbauer, play their home games in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. They finished the season 8–23, 3–13 in SEC play to finish in a tie for twelfth place. They defeated Ole Miss in the first round of the SEC women's tournament before losing to Missouri in the second round.

Shell Dailey is a basketball coach at IMG Academy. Before joining IMG, Dailey played on the Texas Longhorns women's basketball team during the 1980s before working in retail from 1986 to 1992. Dailey began her basketball coaching career with the TCU Horned Frogs women's basketball in 1992 as an assistant coach. After her promotion to head coach in 1993, her team competed at the Southwest Conference women's basketball tournament three times. Dailey had 8 wins and 72 losses with TCU before being replaced by Mike Petersen in 1996.

The 2020–21 Florida Gators women's basketball team represented the University of Florida during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Gators, led by fourth-year head coach Cameron Newbauer, played their home games at the O'Connell Center and competed as members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season</span> American womens college basketball season

The 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began on November 9, 2021. The regular season ended on March 6, 2022, with the 2022 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament beginning on March 18, and ending with the championship game at the Target Center in Minneapolis on April 3.

The 2021–22 Florida Gators women's basketball team represents the University of Florida during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Gators, led by first-year head coach Kelly Rae Finley, play their home games at the O'Connell Center and compete as members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

The 2022–23 Florida Gators women's basketball represented University of Florida in the 2022–23 college basketball season. Led by second year head coach Kelly Rae Finley, the team played their games at O'Connell Center as members of the Southeastern Conference.

References

  1. ↑ Parler, Denver (July 16, 2021). "Newbauer Steps Down as Women's Basketball Head Coach". floridagators.com. Florida Gators Athletics. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Kelly Finley - Women's Basketball". Colorado State University Athletics. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  3. ↑ "Kelly Rae Finley - Women's Basketball Coach". Florida Gators. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  4. ↑ "Finley Promoted to Associate Head Coach". Florida Gators. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  5. ↑ "UF women's basketball coach Kelly Rae Finley signs 5-year, $3.7 million deal". MSN. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  6. ↑ "Kelly Rae Finley Named 11th Women's Basketball Coach at Florida". Florida Gators. Retrieved 2022-04-14.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.