Boston College has found its next women’s basketball coach.
The Eagles are hiring Kate Popovec-Goss, four people familiar with Boston College’s search told USA TODAY Sports on Friday. An official announcement is expected within the next few days.
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Popovec-Goss comes to Boston College after spending four years at Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference. She guided the Braves to a 20-13 overall record this season, marking just the fourth time the program has reached 20 wins in a single year. Bradley also tied its program record for most conference wins in a season with 13.
At Boston College, Popovec-Goss succeeds Joanna Bernabei-McNamee, whose contract was not renewed earlier this month after eight seasons at the helm of the Eagles. Bernabei-McNamee had her worst season yet as the Boston College coach, going 5-25 overall and 1-17 in ACC play. That’s the least number of wins the Eagles have had in a single season since joining the ACC in 2005.
In Popovec-Goss, Boston College has found a coach who has shown an ability to outperform the resources given to her and to turn a downtrodden program around in a reasonable amount of time. Bradley won four games in her first season as head coach and then incrementally improved each season before capturing 20 victories this year and appearing in the WNIT.
People familiar with Boston College’s search said the Eagles told potential candidates that $500,000 is available for roster construction through revenue sharing and NIL. That figure is in the bottom third of the ACC, but is a step up from what Popovec-Goss was working with at Bradley. Other candidates targeted in Boston College’s search included Howard coach Ty Grace and former Army coach Missy Traversi.
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A native of Ohio, the 6-foot-3 Popovec-Goss played her college ball at Pitt and Northwestern. After assistant coaching stints at La Salle and Colgate, she returned to Northwestern and rose into the role of associate head coach and recruiting coordinator under former longtime Wildcats’ coach Joe McKeown. With Popovec-Goss on staff, Northwestern won a Big Ten title and had five postseason appearances, including an NCAA Tournament win over UCF in 2021.
Popovec-Goss’ first two seasons at Bradley were bumpy as the Braves went a combined 10-54. She also served a 10-game suspension in 2023 for reasons Bradley never publicly disclosed. But last season saw improvement, and the Braves went 14-19. Then this season Bradley got over the hump, notching their most wins in six seasons.
Boston College hasn’t had a winning season since the 2021-22 campaign, when the Eagles were left on the wrong side of the March Madness bubble. Boston College hasn’t played in an NCAA Tournament since 2006, when the Eagles went to the Sweet 16 under Cathy Inglese.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bradley’s Kate Popovec-Goss to be next Boston College women’s basketball coach
