Purdue Women's Basketball Head Coach Sharon Versyp The Boilermaker alumna rejoined her alma mater in 2006 and is one of the winningest coaches in school history
Just as she did as a player, head coach Sharon Versyp has put her stamp on the Purdue women's basketball program. The former Boilermaker point guard has led Purdue to four Big Ten Tournament championships and two NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearances in her nine seasons as the head coach at her alma mater. She is the second-winningest coach in Purdue history, earning her 180th victory on the Boilermaker sidelines on Feb. 20, 2014, and earned career victory No. 300 with an NCAA First Round victory on March 22, 2014. She has compiled a 194-108 record with the Boilermakers, an average of 21 wins per season, a 311-173 in 14 seasons as a Division I head coach, and her current contract has secured her presence on the Boilermaker sidelines through at least the 2019-20 season.
Versyp's impact on basketball in the Hoosier state was recognized on April 24, 2010, when she was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility, an honor that includes Larry Bird and John Wooden. On June 22, 2013, Versyp was inducted into New England Basketball Hall of Fame for her stint as the head coach at Maine as well as her ensuing success. In addition to being named the America East Conference Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2005, Versyp was named the 2007 WBCA Region VI Coach of the Year and most recently was honored as the 2014 ESPNW Big Ten Coach of the Year.
The Mishawaka, Ind., native is known for her prowess in game preparation, individual player development and team building. Recruiting is a key to success and Versyp and her staff have proven that they can attract the elite players to Purdue. Each of Versyp's nine signing classes has been ranked in the top 25, including the most recent 2015 group that was ranked eighth nationally by ESPNW Hoopgurlz, and first in the Big Ten Conference. Eight of her nine recruiting classes at Purdue have earned recognition inside the top-15, while four have been ranked in the top-10, including the Class of 2010 which was tabbed sixth nationally. Versyp and her staff have brought in and developed some of the top players in Purdue history, including Fahkara Malone, Brittany Rayburn, KK Houser, Sam Ostarello and Courtney Moses.
Equally impressive to the on-court accolades are the team's academic achievements under Versyp's guidance. The Boilermakers have earned 38 Academic All-Big Ten honors during her tenure, including recent three-time honorees Drey Mingo, Courtney Moses and Chelsea Jones. Plus, Brittany Rayburn became the first Boilermaker Academic All-American since 2001, when she earned second team status as a senior, while 2009 graduate Lauren Mioton was a Rhodes Scholar finalist..
Versyp has guided 26 players to All-Big Ten accolades at Purdue, including four first-team selections, and three Boilermakers have been recognized with All-America honors. Katie Gearlds was a Third Team All-America pick in 2007, while Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton received honorable mention recognition the same year and Drey Mingo was also honorable mention All-America in 2013. Purdue has also seen four members of the conference All-Freshman Team, six Big Ten All-Defensive Team members and a pair of Big Ten Sixth Players of the Year under Versyp, in addition to four Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Players and 14 all-tournament team members. Three Boilermakers have been selected in the WNBA draft during Versyp's tenure as Gearlds was picked seventh by the Seattle Storm in 2007, while Wisdom-Hylton was selected 13th by the Los Angeles Sparks and Danielle Campbell was picked 32nd by the Indiana Fever in 2009.
The Boilermakers have secured an NCAA Tournament bid in seven of nine seasons under Versyp, advancing to the Elite Eight twice and to the second round on the five other occasions. In 2007, the Boilermakers earned the No. 2 seed in the Dallas Region, dispatching No. 15 seed Oral Roberts, seventh-seeded Georgia Tech and No. 3 seed Georgia before falling in the national quarterfinals. The 2009 NCAA Tournament run came as a No. 6 seed in the Oklahoma City Region, as Purdue topped 11th-seeded Charlotte, upset No. 3 seed North Carolina and moved past seventh-seeded Rutgers before suffering a six-point loss in the regional final. In addition to their Elite Eight seedings, the Boilermakers have been a No. 9 seed twice and a No. 4 seed three times in their five other appearances.
Purdue's four Big Ten Tournament titles under Versyp have come in impressive and dramatic fashion, garnering a 16-5 record at the event in nine appearances. Never once entering the tournament as the top seed, the Boilermakers earned the 2007 and 2008 tournament titles, followed up with the 2012 and 2013 titles, and are one of just three teams in the conference to ever win consecutive tournament championships. Gearlds led a second-seeded Boilermaker squad to the 2007 title, while the Boilermaker secured a necessary automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Tournament title with an outstanding postseason run, which was capped by a buzzer-beating, game-winner from Lakisha Freeman to edge Illinois in the championship. The Boilermakers took the 2012 conference tournament as a No. 4 seed, knocking off top-seeded Penn State in the semifinals before winning a 74-70, double-overtime thriller over Big Ten newcomer Nebraska in the finals. The 2013 championship run was a dominant one, as Versyp's third-seeded squad won by an average of 13.3 points per game, including a 62-47 victory over Michigan State in the finals, and Drey Mingo was named the tournament's most outstanding player. The Boilermakers' nine Big Ten Tournament titles are a conference-best and the four championships under Versyp equal the total of the next-best team in the tournament's 20-year history.
The Versyp File
Hometown - Mishawaka, Ind.
High School - Mishawaka
Degree - Purdue, 1989
Coaching Experience
1996-97 Louisville, assistant coach
1997-2000 James Madison, assistant coach
2000-05 Maine, head coach
2005-06 Indiana, head coach
2006-pres. Purdue, head coach
Playing Experience
1985-88 - Purdue
• Four-year starter
• 2x All-Big Ten Honorable Mention (1986, 1987)
• 1988 Second Team All-Big Ten
• 3x Academic All-Big Ten
• 1988 Big Ten Medal of Honor Nominee
• 1988 Purdue Athlete of the Year
• 1987 Academic All-District
• 1988 Second Team Academic All-America
• 1,000 Point Club (1,565 / 13th all-time)
Coaching Honors
• 2003 America East Coach of the Year
• 2005 America East Coach of the Year
• 2007 District VI Coach of the Year
• 2014 ESPNW Big Ten Coach of the Year
Hall of Famer
• Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame (2010)
• New England Basketball Hall of Fame (2013)
Coaching Tree
Katie Gearlds
• Head Coach, Marian University
FahKara Malone
• Assistant Coach, Butler University
Nadine Morgan
• Associate Head Coach, Purdue University
Christy Smith
• Assistant Coach, University of Arkansas
Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton
• Assistant Coach, Purdue University
Milestone Victories
1: 66-51 * Fordham * 11-19-00
100: 68-51 * Belmont * 11-29-05
118: 67-43 * Belmont * 11-09-06
First Win at Purdue
145: 64-52 * Ohio State * 03-05-07
2007 Big Ten Tournament Championship
146: 63-42 * Oral Roberts * 03-17-07
First Career NCAA Tournament Win
166: 58-56 * Illinois * 03-09-08
2008 Big Ten Tournament Championship
200: 53-42 * Northwestern * 01-10-10
217: 65-64 * Michigan * 01-06-11
100th Win at Purdue
252: 74-70 (2OT) * Nebraska * 03-04-12
2012 Big Ten Tournament Championship
277: 62-47 * Michigan State * 03-10-13
2013 Big Ten Tournament Championship
300: 84-55 * Akron * 03-22-14