HOPEWELL, N.J. — ULM women's basketball head coach
Missy Bilderback has been named to the Her Hoop Stats 2025 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year preseason watch list, the organization revealed on Wednesday (Oct. 22) morning. The watch list features coaches from 14 conferences, including the inaugural winner last season, Gonzaga's Lisa Fortier.
Bilderback led the Warhawks to a 21-14 record in her first season, the best record for ULM women's basketball since the 2005-06 season and the first winning record since 2010-11. The season included multiple all-conference honors and a run in the WNIT. She was one of 20 coaches to make the list and was the lone Sun Belt coach named. The award, given in April to a mid-major women's basketball coach, factors in success on and off the court.
Kathy Delaney-Smith's Harvard teams compiled a record of 630-434 (.592) in her 40-year career, including a 367-168 (.685) record in Ivy League play. Delaney-Smith's 630 wins rank 32nd in Division I history, and ninth among coaches who spent their entire career with a single team. Delaney-Smith led her teams to six NCAA Tournament appearances and nine WNIT
appearances. She has coached eight Ivy League Player of the Year recipients, six
Ivy League Rookie of the Year winners, and all 22 of Harvard's 1,000-point scorers in the
program's NCAA Division I history. Delaney-Smith was inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1986, becoming the first woman to ever be inducted, with more than three decades of her career still ahead of her. A native of Newton, Mass., Delaney-Smith is also among the most accomplished high school players and coaches in the state's history. She was the first woman in state history to score 1,000 points while at Sacred Heart High School. As a high school coach, Delaney-Smith coached Westwood High School to an overall record of 204-31 across 11 seasons, including a 96-game winning streak.
Her Hoop Stats was founded in 2017 to unlock better insight about women's basketball at all
levels. It began as a statistics site focused on providing consistent, reliable, and easy-to-access
data about women's basketball for both mobile and desktop environments. Her Hoop Stats has
expanded to become a leading independent voice in the women's game providing content
through our newsletter, podcast network, YouTube channel, and social media accounts.
The 2025 Watch List includes (in alphabetical order by university):
Bart Brooks – Belmont
Chris Kielsmeier – Cleveland State
Megan Griffith – Columbia
Gayle Fulks – Davidson
Allison Pohlman – Drake
Joddie Gleason – Eastern Washington
Carly Thibault-Dudonis – Fairfield
Karl Smesko – FGCU
Vanessa Blair-Lewis – George Mason
Lisa Fortier – Gonzaga
Amy Vachon – Maine
Rick Insell – Middle Tennessee
Carla Berube – Princeton
Aaron Rousell – Richmond
Cindy Griffin – Saint Joseph's
Aaron Johnston – South Dakota State
Ashley Langford – Tulane
Missy Bilderback – ULM
Lindy La Rocque – UNLV
Beth O'Boyle – VCU
