Women's basketball: Which coach will be next to the Final Four?

Which head coach will be the next Final Four newcomer?

COLLEGE PARK, MD - MARCH 25: Head coach Cori Close of the UCLA Bruins signals to her players during a NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament - Second Round game against the Maryland Terrapins at the Xfinity Center Center on March 25, 2019 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

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A wry smile drifts across the face of Iowa State women’s head basketball coach Bill Fennelly as he talked about facilities and keeping the men’s and women’s post-season basketball tournaments together during the Big 12 Women’s Basketball media day at Sprint Arena, Wednesday, October 20, 2010, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Shane Keyser/Kansas City Star/MCT via Getty Images) /

Bill Fennelly, Iowa State

It might sound crazy to put Fennelly on this list given that Big 12 Player of the Year Bridget Carleton will be on a WNBA roster this summer. But the Cyclones will return rising junior Kristin Scott, a second-team All-Big 12 pick in 2018-19, and rising sophomore Ashley Joens. Joens led the state of Iowa in scoring as a high school senior, and associate head coach Jodi Steyer has already compared her to Carleton. If Joens’s progress is anywhere close to what Steyer envisions, a Final Four run won’t sound crazy at all.

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