Former UConn assistant Shea Ralph introduced as Vanderbilt’s new head women’s basketball coach

Former UConn assistant women’s basketball coach and player Shea Ralph was formally introduced as the Vanderbilt coach, her first head coaching job, on Wednesday.

“From the moment we first spoke, I appreciated how genuine she is, her drive, her intellect, her commitment to developing young people and her shared joy and gratitude for what she gets to do every day,” Vanderbilt athletic director Candice Lee said. “When I talked to Geno Auriemma, he told me that Shea is absolutely relentless in everything she does. Every person I talked to, including Shea, indicated she does not like to lose.”

Ralph, who coached at UConn for the last 13 years, takes over a program that had a 46-83 record over the last four years under coach Stephanie White, who was fired last week. Vanderbilt, which advanced to five Elite Eight appearances under former coach Jim Foster, hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2014 and plays in the SEC, one of the toughest conferences in the country.

The Commodores went 4-4 before canceling their season in January due to COVID-19 and injuries.

“I’m not really looking at it as a rebuild, more a revitalization,” Ralph said. “We’ve seen that it can be done here. I’m coming in here thinking, this is going to get done.”

Ralph, a 2001 UConn graduate who was an All-American and the MVP of the 2000 Final Four, said it was difficult to leave UConn, where, as she said, she spent half her life either playing or coaching. She began her coaching career as an assistant at Pitt for five years before returning to Storrs.

“I think the greatest thing I learned at Connecticut was what it takes to build and sustain eliteness and it’s not easy to do,” she said. “I loved being part of that inner working environment, the ups and downs of it. That’s the biggest thing I’ll bring with me.

“What I won’t bring — technical fouls, maybe a few but not a lot. I think I have a different style in general. I’m a little bit different than Coach. Obviously, he’s taught me an incredible amount.”

Ralph said she was looking forward to the challenge of rejuvenating the Commodores’ program.

“What’s intriguing about Vanderbilt, you look at this university, all it has going for it, the athletic programs, the excellence they display and you wonder, ‘Why isn’t the women’s basketball program in the elite conversations in our country?’ We can be and we should be.”

On Tuesday, Ralph’s husband Tom Garrick, the head coach of the UMass Lowell women’s basketball team, told the Courant that he would joining his wife as an associate head coach. But Wednesday, Ralph said that she hadn’t hired her staff yet. Garrick was a former assistant and associate head coach at Vanderbilt from 2009-2015.

“I’m not ready to talk about that,” she said. “I’m really focused on immersing myself in the community, meeting the team. Obviously, I’m discussing with Candice who I’m going to hire and put in place because it’s such an important decision for me. I understand as a new head coach I need to make the right choice. I’m not going to rush through this, I owe it to myself, the athletes and the university to make sure the right people are in place. We’re going to do that sooner than later and I do have a short list.”

Lori Riley can be reached at lriley@courant.com.