PHOENIX (AP) — Shea Ralph surveyed the room as she received The Associated Press Coach of the Year award and all she saw was family.
On one side was the Vanderbilt coach's assistants and school administrators, as well as her husband, daughter and mother. On the other, was her mentors from UConn, including Huskies coaches Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey, for whom she played and worked alongside.
That made receiving the award alongside UConn's Sarah Strong,
who was the AP Player of the Year, extra special. The entire UConn team — including Auriemma — gave Ralph a standing ovation when she accepted the trophy.
“I think literally my entire life is here,” Ralph said. I played at UConn. You guys are my sisters. I love watching you succeed. Your coaches were my coaches and I learned everything from that man sitting right there. ... The reason that I’m successful is because of you guys and I can’t thank you enough for being here."
Ralph did take a playful jab at Auriemma, saying he called her "one of the least coachable players he's ever had, so it's ironic she's winning Coach of the Year."
Strong also praised her UConn teammates, who were all in attendance.
“I’m so blessed because I totally got to this point in my life because of my teammates," Strong said.
Auriemma was touched by seeing Ralph receive the award he has won nine times and Strong be honored as the best player in the country.
“That’s the biggest thank you that you can get as a coach,” Auriemma told the AP of Ralph winning. “Sarah, I told everybody that I knew when we were recruiting her that this kid’s got a chance to be pretty special. I mean, the best player in the country, if it’s done right, I don’t know that it would happen this fast. To watch a kid like this and realize that they’re different is really special."
Strong became just the fifth player to win the award in her sophomore year, joining Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris (2007), UConn stars Maya Moore (2009) and Breanna Stewart (2014), and USC’s JuJu Watkins, who won it last year. The AP started giving out the award in 1995.
It’s the 13th time a Huskies player has won the award, with Paige Bueckers being the last to do it before Strong in 2021.
Strong received 25 votes from a national media panel that votes for the Top 25 each week. Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes garnered four votes and UCLA’s Lauren Betts got the other two. Voting was completed before the NCAA Tournament began.
Ralph led a team that returned just one starter to the most successful season in school history. Vanderbilt went 29-5, with 13 of those wins coming in the regular season against a rugged Southeastern Conference schedule. The Commodores finished tied for second in the conference, which matched the best finish in program history. They earned a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament and reached the Sweet 16.
“It’s wild. It’s hard to wrap my mind around it. This whole year, we haven’t slowed down,” Ralph told the AP. “I love basketball, I love the group that I coach. I love they stayed with me. It’s been hard and it’s been challenging, but in a good way.”
Ralph received 23 votes from the 31-member national media panel that votes on the AP Top 25 each week. UCLA’s Cori Close, who was the AP Coach of the Year last season, was next with four. Auriemma received two votes, while Mark Kellogg of West Virginia and Kara Lawson of Duke each got one.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
