BOSTON, Mass.—UMass Boston women's basketball head coach Kristina Baugh – who led the Beacons to their best five-year run in program history – announced her resignation on Friday and was named head coach at Division II Barry University.
In her five seasons as head coach, Baugh led the Beacons to their first two 20-win seasons, their first-ever Little East Conference Tournament Championship and the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. She posted an 87-49 record, which ranks second in program history for wins, and recorded a program-record .640 winning percentage.
Baugh was named the 2017-18 Little East Conference Co-Coach of the Year, becoming just the second coach in program history to earn the award.
"I would like to thank Vice Chancellor Charlie Titus and members of the administration for the opportunity to come back home to Boston and their trust in me running my own program," Baugh said. "I am so proud of the way our women's basketball program excelled on-and-off the floor. It's always about the players; I am so grateful for all the players that I have coached and recruited to be Beacons. This was the hardest decision of my career. We accomplished so many firsts and this time will be missed And cherished forever. "
Eight different student-athletes – Olivia Murphy ('16), Grace Geary ('17), Ariana Rivera ('17), Raven Kelsey ('18), Lydia Vital ('18), Shania Osborne ('18), Joie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) and Jalani Jackson (Brockton, Mass.) – earned Little East Conference All-Conference honors. Kelsey was named the 2018-18 LEC Defensive Player of the Year.
The Beacons set program records for total wins (25), conference wins (12) and longest winning streak (13) during the 2017-18 season. Baugh led the Beacons to a 25-4 overall record and their best-ever finish in the Little East Conference standings (second-place). In the postseason, UMass Boston defeated #7 Plymouth State University, #3 University of Southern Maine and #1 UMass Dartmouth to win the program's first-ever Little East Conference Title.
This past season, Baugh led UMass Boston to their first two wins over nationally-ranked teams in program history: #25 Emmanuel College (84-79), #12 Messiah College (62-52). UMass Boston also went undefeated in non-conference play for the first time in program history (9-0) and finished with the second-most wins in program history (20-7).
Baugh helped UMass Boston reach two Little East Conference Championship games and the Beacons went 6-4 in LEC Tournament play during her tenure.
Over the past three seasons, UMass Boston has won at least 10 or more games in conference play (32-14). The Beacons had never won more than nine games in LEC play in the first 30 years of league play.
UMass Boston will conduct a nationwide search shortly. All interested candidates should contact Senior Associate Director of Athletics Stephanie Dollar.
