Pitt names Tory Verdi as women's basketball head coach
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - On Friday, the University of Pittsburgh Athletic Director Heather Lyke named Tory Verdi the new women's basketball head coach.
Verdi will be the 10th head coach in team history.
"I am beyond excited about this opportunity," Verdi said. "From the first time I stepped on campus and in the Pete, I felt at home. It's time to wake the sleeping giant. I know that we will win and win big. Together, we will move mountains. We will put a product on the floor that our community, the city of Pittsburgh, and the state of Pennsylvania will be proud of. We belong. Change is coming."
For the past seven seasons, Verdi was the head coach at Massachusetts, recording 128 victories, and getting the program's first Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2021-22.
"Tory Verdi owns an outstanding track record of elevating basketball programs on and off the floor," said Lyke. "This has been evident at each of his coaching stops, both collegiate and professional, during his 28-year career. I saw this firsthand when we worked together at Eastern Michigan, where his blueprint for success completely revitalized our program."
Verdi's work in the 2021-22 and 22-23 seasons were a run of success Massachusetts hadn't seen in a long time.
The team's victory in the 2022 A10 tournament earned them an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, their first appearance since 1998. In the A10 final, they defeated the number one-seeded Dayton Flyers to win the conference.
In 2022-23, they recorded a 27-7 record overall with a 14-2 record in conference play.
Verdi has spent a long time in basketball, spending time as an assistant coach with Nebraska, Kansas, and in the WNBA with the Connecticut Sun.