Kyra Elzy
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 17, 1978 La Grange, Kentucky |
| Playing career | |
| 1996–2001 | Tennessee |
| Position(s) | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2002–2004 | Western Kentucky (assistant) |
| 2004–2008 | Kansas (assistant) |
| 2008–2010 | Kentucky (assistant) |
| 2010–2012 | Kentucky (AHC) |
| 2012–2015 | Tennessee (assistant) |
| 2015–2016 | Tennessee (AHC) |
| 2016–2020 | Kentucky (AHC) |
| 2020–2024 | Kentucky |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 61–60 (.504) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Awards | |
| Maggie Dixon Award winner (2021) | |
Kyra Elzy (born August 17, 1978) is a women’s head basketball coach who most recently was the head coach at the University of Kentucky.
College career[edit]
Elzy attended Tennessee between 1996 and 2001, sitting out the 1998 – 99 season due to an injury. Under acclaimed coach Pat Summitt, she was a member of the teams that won the national championship in 1997 and 1998, as well as the team that finished as the national runner-up in 2000.[1] She was named the winner of the Holly Warlick defensive player of the year award in 1997.[2][3]
Coaching career[edit]
Elzy served as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky and Kansas before joining Matthew Mitchell's staff at Kentucky as an assistant ahead of the 2008 season. She then served as associate head coach from 2010-2012 before returning to her alma mater as part of Holly Warlick's initial staff at Tennessee.
In 2016, Elzy was re-hired by Mitchell as associate head coach at Kentucky before being named interim head coach following Mitchell's retirement in 2020.[4] Following a 6-0 start to the 2020-21 season, Kentucky removed the interim tag from Elzy, making her permanent head coach.[5]
On March 11, 2024, following back-to-back losing seasons and after failing to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in consecutive years, Kentucky announced that Elzy had been fired as head coach.[6]
Head coaching record[edit]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Wildcats (Southeastern Conference) (2020–2024) | |||||||||
| 2020–21 | Kentucky | 18–9 | 9–6 | T–5th | NCAA Second Round | ||||
| 2021–22 | Kentucky | 19–12 | 8–8 | 7th | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 2022–23 | Kentucky | 12–19 | 2–14 | T–13th | |||||
| 2023–24 | Kentucky | 12–20 | 4–12 | 12th | |||||
| Kentucky: | 61–60 (.504) | 23–40 (.365) | |||||||
| Total: | 61–60 (.504) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References[edit]
- ^ Hale, Jon (December 14, 2020). "Kyra Elzy named full-time coach for Kentucky women's basketball team". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
- ^ "Kyra Elzy - Women's Basketball Coach". University of Kentucky Athletics. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
- ^ McKinney, Josh (April 27, 2016). "Kyra Elzy returns home, named UK women's basketball associate head coach". WYMT. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
- ^ Crane, Evan (November 12, 2020). "Matthew Mitchell Retires from Coaching; Kyra Elzy Named Interim Head Coach". UKAthletics.com. Kentucky Wildcats Athletics. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
- ^ Thompson, Tyler (December 14, 2020). "Kentucky names Kyra Elzy Women's Basketball head coach, removes interim tag". Kentucky Sports Radio. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ "Kyra Elzy, Kentucky Women's Basketball Head Coach, Relieved of Duties". UKAtheltics.com. March 11, 2024.
External links[edit]
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- 1978 births
- Living people
- Kansas Jayhawks women's basketball coaches
- Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball coaches
- Oldham County High School alumni
- Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball coaches
- Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball players
- Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball coaches
- American women's basketball players
- American basketball biography, 1970s birth stubs