HOPEWELL, N.J. — Following a program and Big Sky record for single season wins, Eastern Washington women's basketball coach
Joddie Gleason is listed in Her Hoop Stats' preseason watch list for the 2025 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid Major Coach of the Year Award.
The award honors a head coach from one the 26 conferences categorized as "mid-major". Winning coaches are determined by factors including success in recruiting, managing preseason expectations, managing injuries and tactical coaching. They also should have success that goes beyond the court
In January of 2025, the list will be trimmed down to 10 and down to five in March. The winner will be announced around the 2025 Final Four.
Gleason led EWU to a 29-6 overall record last season, including 16-2 in the Big Sky to win the regular season title for the second time in program history. Eastern went on to win its first ever conference tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in program history (1987).
The 29 overall wins is a Big Sky Conference record, with the 16 conference wins being a Eastern record.
Going into her fourth season leading the Eagles, Gleason has a 57-38 (.600) record as a head coach.
After going 9-21 in the 2021-22 season, Gleason led the team to a 19-11 record in 2022-23, matching the program record with a 10-win improvement. She then matched the record again last season, improving by another 10 wins to 29.
Building a complete program, Gleason has made it a point for her team to excel in their academics just as much as athletics. Eastern earned a WBCA Honor Roll Special Mention for the third-straight season under Gleason. In her time as head coach, Gleason has coached 25 Big Sky All-Academic selections.
Gleason has a new starting lineup going into this season, after last season's starting five departed. The Eagles have eight returning players and bring in eight newcomers.
Senior guard Alexis Pettis has played for Gleason since the beginning of her tenure and looks to help provide veteran leadership for the team. She averaged 14.2 minutes last season, playing in 33 games and averaging 4.2 points per game, with 22 steals and 33 assists.
Eastern Washington will play Eastern Oregon on Sunday (Oct. 27) at 2 p.m. in the team's final tune-up before the 2024-25 regular season begins.
EWU opens its season against Washington State on Nov. 4 in Pullman.
About Her Hoop Stats
Her Hoop Stats was founded in 2017 to unlock better insight about women's basketball at all levels. We began as a statistics site focused on providing consistent, reliable, and easy-to-access data about women's basketball for both mobile and desktop environments. Her Hoop Stats has expanded to become a leading independent voice in the women's game providing content through our newsletter, podcast network, YouTube channel, and social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
About Kathy Delaney-Smith
Delaney-Smith's Harvard teams compiled a record of 630-434 (.592) in her 40-year career, including a 367-168 (.685) record in Ivy League play. Delaney-Smith's 630 wins rank 32nd in Division I history, and ninth among coaches who spent their entire career with a single team.
Delaney-Smith led her teams to six NCAA Tournament appearances and nine WNIT appearances, plus three Ivy League titles before the NCAA Tournament awarded automatic bids to the Ivy League champion. She has coached eight Ivy League Player of the Year recipients, six Ivy League Rookie of the Year winners, and all 22 of Harvard's 1,000-point scorers in the program's NCAA Division I history.
Delaney-Smith was inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1986, becoming the first woman to ever be inducted, with more than three decades of her career still ahead of her. She was also inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.
A native of Newton, Mass., Delaney-Smith is also among the most accomplished high school players and coaches in the state's history. She was the first woman in state history to score 1,000 points while at Sacred Heart High School. As a high school coach, Delaney-Smith coached Westwood High School to an overall record of 204-31 across 11 seasons, including a 96-game winning streak.
Season tickets for women's basketball are now on sale. Reserve your seats at Reese Court for the 2024-25 seasons by clicking on the link here, emailing tickets@ewu.edu or calling the ticket office at 509-359-6059.
Join the Eagle Athletic Fund for as low as $50 per year! Support Eagle student-athletes on and off the field while enjoying exclusive EAF perks such as season ticket and tailgating priority, invitations to special events, exclusive access and more. Visit goeags.com/eaf for more information.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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