The search for a new women’s basketball coach has come to an end for Penn State. The school has announced the hiring of former Penn State Lady Lion Tanisha Wright as the next head coach of the women’s basketball program.
“Tanisha Wright embodies everything this program stands for,” Penn State athletics director Pat Kraft said in a released statement on Thursday. “She is one of the greatest to ever wear a Lady Lion uniform, and she went on to spend 19 years competing and coaching at the highest level of women’s professional basketball, including winning a championship as a player.”
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Wright spent four years with Penn State and played in the second-most games by a player in school history. Wright, a three-time First-team All-Big Ten player and three-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, was a part of the last Penn State women’s basketball team to reach the Elite Eight in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament (2003-04) under former head coach Rene Portland. Penn State went to the NCAA tournament each year Wright was playing for the program, with two trips to the Sweet Sixteen and once to the Elite Eight. Wright sits fifth in the Penn State record books with 771 field goals. Wright was named an All-American by the USBWA in 2005.
“Penn State will always be home to me, and it is an incredible honor to return to this program as head coach,” Wright said in a released statement. “This University shaped me as a student athlete, and I understand the pride, tradition and expectations that come with wearing the Lady Lion uniform.”
Wright was the No. 12 overall pick in the 2005 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm. Wright played for the Storm from 2005 through 2014 and spent some time playing for the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx, earning WNBA All-Defensive First Team five times and second-team honors twice. Wright was part of a WNBA championship team with the Storm in 2010 and has won league championships playing in the EuroCup, Israeli championship, and the Polish National League. Wright is a five-time WNBA All-Defensive First-Team player.
There is no question that Wright brings a tremendous amount of success from the world of women’s basketball to a Penn State program trying hard to recapture its glory days. The hope is that a successful career as Penn State and in the WNBA helps light a spark for the Penn State program and attract some good talent to turn this program around.
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Wright has nearly a decade of coaching experience, mostly as an assistant with multiple WNBA teams. She was the head coach of the Atlanta Dream from 2022 through 2024 with two playoff appearances despite sub-500 records in each season, and a pair of first-round exits.
Wright will be formally introduced to the media on Monday, March 23.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State names Tanisha Wright as new women’s basketball coach
