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The Four Black Women Coaches Who Took Their Teams to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Women’s Tournament

By the time there were 16 teams left in the Women’s NCAA Tournament, four of them were coached by Black women. How did they do?

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SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 28: Head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks reacts against the Oklahoma Sooners during the fourth quarter in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Golden 1 Center on March 28, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thien-An Truong/Getty Images)

March Madness has gripped sports fans as the annual NCAA Tournament (68 teams vying for the chance to become the season’s champion in both the men’s and women’s Division I basketball) nears its end. This past weekend, four Black women coaches were still in the running for a championship when the teams dwindled down to the coveted “Sweet Sixteen.” As the tournament comes to a close, we’re taking a look at the four women who were hoping to lead their team to victory.

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The University of South Carolina’s Dawn Staley

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 27: Head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks during a press conference before the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament – Sweet Sixteen at Golden 1 Center on March 27, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Dawn Staley, a former college, Olympics and WNBA player, sets the standard for successful coaches. With the team coming in first place in the SEC (Southeastern Conference) and sporting a 33-3 record (15-1 conference), she has taken the South Carolina Gamecocks to the Sweet Sixteen for the 12th consecutive season. Staley has brought home the NCAA Championship three times in the last 10 years (2017, 2022, 2024) and is going for a fourth. The No. 1 seed advanced and is playing the No. 3 seed, Texas Christian University, in the Elite Eight on March 30.

The University of Notre Dame’s Niele Ivey

FORT WORTH, TEXAS – MARCH 29: Head coach Niele Ivey watches game action against the UConn Huskies in the first half during an Elite Eight round game of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament held at Dickies Arena on March 29, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Andy Hancock/NCAA Photos/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Niele Ivey is a former WNBA player who was an assistant coach for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies before taking the head coaching position at Notre Dame in 2020. In 2023, Ivey was the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) Coach of the Year. This past season, she led her team to an overall 25-11 record (12-6 conference) and coached the Fighting Irish to their fifth straight Sweet Sixteen appearance. Sadly, the No. 6 seed lost to the top-seeded UConn in the Elite Eight.

Duke University’s Kara Lawson

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Kara Lawson of the Duke Blue Devils speaks to the press after a second round game of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament against the Baylor Bears held at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 22, 2026 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Ryan Hunt/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Kara Lawson is the current ACC Coach of the Year, who has led the Blue Devils to consecutive ACC Tournament championships the last two years (2025, 2026). The former Olympian and WNBA star was an assistant coach with the NBA’s Boston Celtics before joining Duke in 2020 as the school’s head coach. This Sweet Sixteen appearance is the school’s third in the last four seasons under Lawson’s guidance. The Blue Devils lost their latest game, in the Elite Eight, to the No.1 seed, UCLA.

The University of Virginia’s Amaka Agugua-Hamilton

IOWA CITY, IOWA – MARCH 23: Head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton of the Virginia Cavaliers speaks to media during a press conference after Virginia beat the Iowa Hawkeyes in two overtime periods during a second round game of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament held at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 23, 2026 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Rebecca Gratz/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Amaka Agugua-Hamilton played her collegiate career at Hofstra University before starting her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Virginia Commonwealth University. Before taking the reins at Virginia, she got her first head coaching job at Missouri State, where she won consecutive championships (Missouri Valley Conference) in 2020 and 2021, while also taking home Coach of the Year honors both years.  In 2022, she joined Virginia, where this year, she has advanced the team to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in over 25 years. They lost to Texas Christian University in the Sweet Sixteen.

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