Arizona Wildcats women's basketball coach Adia Barnes was named one of four finalists for the 2020 Naismith Coach of the Year Award. Barnes joins Oregon's Kelly Graves, Northwestern's Joe McKeown and South Carolina's Dawn Staley.Β
Graves was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year after leading Oregon to a 28-2 regular season record. Barnes and Graves look to become the first Pac-12 coaches to earn Naismith Coach of the Year honors since 2011.Β
β‘οΈ The @wernerladderco Naismith womenβs COY 2020 finalists have been named. πWho will take this yearβs π?#Naismith2020 | #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/EjC2UIKRMh
— The Naismith Trophy (@NaismithTrophy) March 19, 2020
Now in her fourth season as head coach of the Wildcats, Barnes led the UA to a 24-7 record, which was two wins shy of the program record. Fresh off a WNIT championship, Arizona's season was one of the best in school history and came with monumental moments.Β
Arizona beat three top-10 opponents this season, including an overtime win over fourth-ranked Stanford, which was the first top-five ever for the UA. The Wildcats also swept rival Arizona State for the first time since 2000.Β
The Wildcats wrapped up season ranked No. 12 in the AP Top 25 and USA Today's Coaches Poll, which is the best finish since 1998, when Barnes was a senior at Arizona.Β
The winner of Naismith Coach of the Year will be announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on April 4.Β



