KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – University of Tennessee women’s basketball head coach Kellie Harper announced Thursday that Lacey Goldwire has joined her staff as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
She will be part of a Lady Vol program that includes previously-announced assistants Jon Harper and Jennifer Sullivan.
The 2019-20 campaign will mark her eighth season full-time and her 12th year overall in the coaching profession, including stops at Oklahoma State, Morehead State, Iowa, Arkansas and now Rocky Top. She has been part of programs that have earned postseason berths in nine of 11 seasons.
“We are very excited to be adding Lacey Goldwire to our coaching staff,” Harper said. “Lacey is a person of high character and has a wonderful personality. She is a terrific recruiter and has knowledge and experience in the SEC that will prove to be very beneficial for our program.”
Goldwire comes to Knoxville from the University of Arkansas, where she spent the past two seasons as an assistant on Mike Neighbors’ staff. Since arriving in April 2017, she has helped in the rebuilding process as the Razorbacks went from 13-18 in Neighbors’ first season to 22-15 a year ago with a trip to the SEC Tournament championship game and the WNIT third round.
Prior to joining Neighbors in Fayetteville, Goldwire contributed to four postseason appearances in as many years at the University of Iowa. She worked with the wing players and served as the recruiting coordinator for the Hawkeyes, helping set the table for this season’s run to the NCAA Elite Eight.
Her initial season in Iowa City was the first of back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament. A 27-win season included a second round appearance in the Big Dance in 2013-14. Iowa returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2014-15 and defeated 14th-seeded American (75-67) in the first round and 11th-seeded Miami (88-70) in the second round. The victory secured a Sweet Sixteen berth at home on Mediacom Court in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Hawkeyes closed their season with a 26-8 record overall, a runner-up finish in Big Ten Conference play with a 14-4 mark, and a No. 11 national ranking in the USA Today Top 25 Coaches’ Poll — then the highest for the program since 1995-96 (No. 7 in AP, No. 9 in USA Today). UI was one of 13 teams nationally to finish undefeated at home with an 18-0 mark, setting a program record for wins at home in a single season.
Goldwire and the Hawkeyes were one win shy of 20 in 2015-16, playing in the WNIT, but they reached 20 wins in 2016-17 and went deep into the WNIT bracket with wins over Missouri State, South Dakota and Colorado.
During her time in Iowa, Goldwire worked with consensus All-America selection Samantha Logic, whose honors also included being named a WBCA Division I Coaches All-American, USBWA All-American, ESPN Second Team All-American and Third Team Associated Press All-American. Logic was the only player in NCAA history to accumulate at least 1,500 career points, 800 rebounds, 800 assists and 200 steals. She also was one of 12 players in the country to be invited to attend the 2015 WNBA Draft, where she was selected with the 10th overall pick by the Atlanta Dream.
Goldwire spent the 2012-13 season as an assistant coach at Morehead State. Prior to joining the Eagles’ staff, Goldwire served on the Oklahoma State staff for four seasons — two as a student assistant (2008-10) and two as a graduate assistant (2010-12).
Following Oklahoma State’s tragic loss of its head and assistant coach during a plane crash in November of 2011, Goldwire was elevated to interim assistant coach, where she took on added recruiting duties. During her time with the program, the Cowgirls won 80 games and advanced to the postseason all four years, winning the 2012 WNIT championship.
A native of Oklahoma City, Goldwire played collegiately at East Central (Okla.) University, where she ranks fifth in career scoring with 1,340 points. She averaged 21.1 points and 5.9 rebounds as a senior and was tabbed Lone Star Conference North Co-Player of the Year and Second-Team All-South Central Region. She also earned ECU’s Athlete of the Year honor in 2007-08. She was named honorable mention All-LSC following her sophomore and junior campaigns.
Goldwire, an all-state and all-city player at Del City (Okla.) High School, graduated from Oklahoma State with a bachelor of science in education and a master’s degree in teaching, learning and leadership in 2010.
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