Soon after its founding, Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball became known as a perennial contender in the NCAA. Starting in 1986 — eight years after it became a varsity team — Vanderbilt made 26 NCAA tournaments in 27 years. In 20 of those years, it advanced to the Sweet 16 or higher. 

After 2014, though, the once-dominant program became one of the SEC’s worst. Across two head coaches in seven years, Vanderbilt collected an overall record of 79-113 (23-76 SEC) and no NCAA Tournament berths. 

This all changed when Shea Ralph stepped onto West End. In four years, Ralph has transformed Vanderbilt from a SEC bottom-feeder to a consistent tournament contender, with her roster containing some of the biggest names in women’s basketball. When Commodore fans look back at this point in the program’s history, they will see her tenure as a mark of the tides turning — or rather, reverting to their historic roots of greatness.

The Ralph resume

Ralph came to Vanderbilt with a permanent standard of excellence as both a player and a coach. She played at the University of Connecticut from 1996 to 2001, leading her team to a National Championship in 2000. That same year, she won a myriad of honors, including Big East Player of the Year, NCAA Women’s Final Four MVP, a Honda Sports award and the “Sports Illustrated for Women” Player of the Year. 

Upon graduating from UConn, Ralph was picked by the Utah Starzz in the 2001 WNBA Draft, but injuries shortened her career as a player, and Ralph turned to coaching.

“Most of the reason that I wanted to coach was because of the way that people had changed my life in terms of my coaches and mentors,” Ralph said on Feb. 23, 2025, following Vanderbilt’s matchup with South Carolina. “I was a little bit of a s***head — I mean, there’s really not another way to say it — when I was younger. I [thought] it was time for me to give back in terms of not only our game but the young women who want to play it and have the same goals that I had.”

In 17 seasons as an assistant, 5 with the University of Pittsburgh and 13 with her alma mater, Ralph coached her team to 15 tournament appearances — and an astounding six national championships with the Huskies. 

Her standard for excellence has done more than just bring the program back to its winning ways, though; she has brought the team notoriety through high-profile recruits and shattered records.

Players

Ralph has transformed Vanderbilt’s recruiting landscape. She has brought in some of the nation’s best while also developing those who were overlooked as high schoolers. 

Ralph’s biggest win during her first year was retaining key players from the previous regime. Iyana Moore — now a senior — was committed under former head coach Stephanie White, but Ralph convinced her to stay. Moore has amassed 1,304 points in her three years on the court and holds the program record for made 3-pointers in a game (nine). Ralph also kept Jordyn Cambridge, who quickly became a leader in the first three years of Ralph’s tenure. The Nashville native graduated with the program’s career and single-season steals records while being the only Commodore to ever amass over 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists and 300 steals in a career. 

Ralph has continually gotten high-level recruits to come to campus, too. Her first high school recruit, Sacha Washington, has been instrumental to the Commodores’ success. She has amassed over 1000 points while also adding 720 rebounds and still has one year of eligibility. 

Then came Khamil Pierre, who committed to Ralph with 30 other Division I offers. The now sophomore was impressive as a first-year, winning five SEC Freshman of the Week honors and averaging 10.4 points per game in SEC play. This year, with a full offseason under her belt, she has excelled. The Arizona native is averaging 20.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.

One recruit can change a coach’s trajectory forever and turn a team into a blue blood. For Dawn Staley at South Carolina, it was A’ja Wilson; for Ralph at Vanderbilt, it might just be Mikayla Blakes.

Blakes announced her commitment to the Commodores as the No. 10 recruit nationally. Since stepping foot on West End, she has lived up to the hype. In her first game as a Commodore, she led her team to a 102-50 win over Lipscomb with 23 points of her own. Since then, she has set not one but two NCAA freshman single-game scoring records and was named to the SEC First Team while also winning SEC Freshman of the Year. With Blakes, Ralph has shown the SEC and the nation that she can recruit, develop and create a platform for high-level athletes — and, dare I say, future WNBA Draft lottery picks. 

Ralph has also excelled at adding talent through the transfer portal. Ciaja Harbison transferred into the program from St. Louis during Ralph’s second year at the helm and quickly became one of the best players in the SEC. She finished her sole season as a Commodore as a member of the All-SEC Second Team.

Just four years in, Ralph has raised the bar for the type of recruits this program can get. 

Performances

Ralph has also excelled at improving the program’s results — both in conference and nonconference play. The program got a NIT bid in 2021, a NCAA Tournament bid in 2023 and is on the cusp of its second-straight NCAA Tournament bid for the first time since the 2013 and 2014 seasons.  

In Ralph’s inaugural season, the team went 16-19 overall, giving Ralph the third-most wins of any women’s basketball coach in a debut season. The season also saw a ranked win over No. 15 Florida and the program’s first SEC Tournament victory in six years when it downed Texas A&M 85-69. The 2021-22 squad advanced to the third round of the NIT Tournament — the Commodores’ longest postseason run since 2013. 

After a less-than-desired 12-19 record in 2022-2023, amidst season-ending injuries to Cambridge and Moore, the Black and Gold returned to the postseason in 2023-2024. The Commodores heard their name called on Selection Sunday after their first 20-win season since the 2012-13 season. The ‘Dores then beat Columbia 72-68 in the First Four round before falling to No. 5 Baylor. 

Even after getting its first postseason appearance in a decade, Ralph and her Commodores were grossly underestimated entering this season. The preseason SEC rankings had them at the No. 12 slot. Vanderbilt soon proved them all wrong, finishing the regular season with a 22-10 (8-8) record. It also earned a bye in the SEC tournament as the No. 8 seed and defeated Tennessee twice in one season for the first time ever. 

In just four years, Ralph has revived the renowned greatness of the Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball team and continues to do so. Eventually, when all is said and done, the Ralph era will have brought Vanderbilt back to its historic roots — a deep run in the NCAA Tournament next week would only solidify this. All this success is just the beginning; Commodore nation, you are witnessing a generational turnaround right before your eyes.