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Liz Hudy named Head Women's Basketball Coach at Virginia Wesleyan
Veteran Averett coach will assume leadership of the program on June 1
vwuathletics.com | May 5, 2019
Virginia Wesleyan University has turned to veteran Averett University coach Liz Hudy as its next head women’s basketball coach. The Virginia Beach native will start at VWU on June 1, according to Tina Hill, Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics.
"We're thrilled to have someone as talented as Coach Hudy join our community at this time in our program history,” says Hill. “She brings with her a passion for the sport of basketball and a love of Division III athletics. She not only has demonstrated a keen sense of competitiveness on the hardwood as a player and a coach, but she also understands the importance of performing well in the classroom. She will be a great role model and attract talented student-athletes that will excel at VWU. We're going to flourish under her leadership."
Hudy has been the head coach at Averett for eight seasons, compiling an impressive 68-39 record over the last four seasons (including 45-17 in USA South Conference). For three consecutive seasons, she guided her team to the program's highest overall win total after matching the program record with an 18-9 mark overall and a 13-3 record in conference play as Averett won its first USA South Conference East Division regular season crown.
Prior to her role at Averett, Hudy served for three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Rochester, where she helped guide the team to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including a 2010 trip to the Division III Final Four.
Hudy has produced four D3hoops.com All-Region selections, 12 USA South All-Conference selections, and the 2014-15 Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) State Rookie of the Year. She has also produced four Academic All-America selections from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), including the 2017-18 Division III Women's Basketball Academic All-America of the Year.
As a player, she was a three-time Division III All-American at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg. A three-year captain, she helped lead Mary Washington to three Capital Athletic Conference championships, four NCAA Tournament berths, three Sweet 16 appearances and one Final Four. Mary Washington had a combined 111-15 record during her four seasons.
Hudy was a dominating post player who finished her career as the NCAA Division III career leader in blocked shots with 510 in 126 games. She was selected to the WBCA First Team All-American as a senior and an Honorable Mention All-American as a junior and sophomore. In addition, she was a D3hoops.com Second Team All-American as a senior and Third Team All-American as a junior and sophomore. She also earned three consecutive First Team All-Conference honors from the Capital Athletic Conference and was the CAC Player of the Year as a junior and senior. She was a First Team All-State selection as a junior and senior and a Second Team All-State honoree as a sophomore. She is also the only student-athlete in any sport at Mary Washington to have her jersey number retired.
Hudy holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Mary Washington, where she was a member of the Alpha Phi Sigma Honor Society, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and was chosen as Academic Athlete of the Year. She also earned a master's in teaching and curriculum from the University of Rochester.
Hudy will assume leadership of a program that finished 14-12 and graduated Jayla Harris, the program's all-time leading scorer.
"I am beyond thrilled to be Virginia Wesleyan University’s next women’s basketball coach,” Hudy says. “I would like to thank President Miller and Tina Hill for this opportunity to return to my hometown and continue my passion of coaching NCAA Division III basketball. I look forward to working with the talented coaches at VWU and working with quality student-athletes to establish a championship culture on and off the court. My husband and I are eager to join the Marlin community."
This article originally appeared on vwuathletics.com.