Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Head Coach
Tina Langley was named the 12th head coach of the Washington women's basketball program on April 5, 2021, and will enter her fifth season at the program's helm in 2025-26. Since her arrival, Langley has steered Washington back into the national spotlight and demonstrated her tact as a transformational leader. Unsurprisingly, her commitment to building an elite, values-based program has propelled historic change on Montlake and set a standard of excellence for the future.
Langley, who enters her 11th season as a head coach, has seen success at each of her stops and made incredible turnarounds her calling card. Inheriting a Washington team ranked last in the Pac-12, she wasted no time implementing a system that improved the Husky win total from 7 to 19 games during the 2022-23 season. The 12-game swing was the second-best improvement in program history. Two years later, during the 2024-25 season, Langley led Washington to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. Given the program’s continued upward trajectory, ESPN included the Huskies in its 2025-26 “Way-Too-Early Top 25” for the first time since 2016.
The confidence stems from an impressive debut for the Huskies in the Big Ten, where they led the league in field goal percentage (49.5%), three-point percentage (40.1%), and free throw percentage (83.6%) during conference play. Washington won three of its first four Big Ten games, before closing the season with a five-game winning streak — including the first conference tournament win for Langley in a 79-65 victory over Minnesota at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Huskies were dominant on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, recording 138 blocks — the second-most in program history — while scoring the most points since 2016-17 (2,379). Washington improved its field goal percentage for a third straight year, tying for seventh in the country with a 48% mark from the floor.
The Huskies’ hot start was built off a similar run from the year prior, with the team beginning the season 11-0 — tying the best start in program history. The undefeated stretch pushed Washington into the AP Top 25 (No. 23) for the first time since the final poll of the 2016-17 season.
Langley has recorded a number of notable wins during her time on Montlake, including four wins over AP-ranked opponents during the 2023-24 season. Three of those wins (No. 21 Washington State, No. 11 USC, and No. 18 Utah) came on the road, the first time in program history the Huskies won three road games at ranked opponents. Additionally, Washington recorded a 61-51 home victory against No. 9 Oregon State for its first double-digit win over a ranked opponent since 2014. But one of the best wins during Langley's tenure came against No. 2 Stanford during the 2022-23 season, a victory that quickly garnered national attention. It was the program’s first win against an opponent ranked No. 2 or better since 1999, and only the ninth time in Washington history it had beaten a top-five opponent. ESPN and the NCAA both awarded the Huskies “Win of the Week” honors, while Elle Ladine was named USWBA National Freshman of the Week for her 23-point performance. As she has for much of her career, Langley propelled the team into the postseason in 2022-23, and their deep run to the WNIT Fab Four marked the first appearance in postseason play since 2016.
At the heart of this transformation is Langley's skill in player development. In 25 years on the sidelines as an assistant and head coach, Langley has coached 54 All-Conference players and developed 14 WNBA draft picks. Her ability to help players achieve their best has been evident during her tenure in Seattle. In the 2024-25 season, three players received all-conference honors from the Big Ten (Elle Ladine — All-Big Ten Second Team; Dalayah Daniels and Sayvia Sellers — All-Big Ten Honorable Mention), while Ladine was twice named to the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Weekly Honor Roll and earned USBWA National Player of the Week honors. Her players continue to improve statistically, with Sellers finishing fifth in the Big Ten in three-point makes (41) and seventh in assists (77), while Daniels wrapped up the year 12th in rebounding (7.7) and third in field goal percentage (57.9%). Ladine ended her season third in the conference in scoring (19.2) and fifth in field-goal percentage (51.5%).
Daniels, who signed with Washington in 2022, showed remarkable growth under Langley, finishing her career with 160 career blocks in a Washington uniform (second-most in program history) and 28 double-doubles (fifth-most). In the 2024-25 campaign, she recorded the highest field goal percentage (57.5%) in Husky history and was selected as the No. 24 overall pick by the Minnesota Lynx, marking the first Washington player to be drafted since Kelsey Plum in 2017.
In her first season on Montlake, Langley mentored 6-foot-9 center Nancy Mulkey, who was a two-time national semifinalist for the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award. Mulkey, who followed Langley from Rice, received All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention and All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honors in her first year in the league.
One of Langley’s most notable attributes is her ability to retrain high-caliber talent in Seattle. Washington was one of only three Power Four programs to not lose a player to the transfer portal following the 2024-25 season. Additionally, the Huskies were one of three teams in the country with a 40-point scorer, 30-point scorer, and 20-point scorer — but the only team to retain all three players.
This has become all the more important given Langley’s consistent recruiting success. Her last class, which marked her third top-15 class in the past four seasons, included the commitment of McGaughy, the highest-rated recruit in Washington history and one of ESPN’s 10 freshmen to watch for the 2025-26 season. Before arriving in Seattle, she competed in the 2025 McDonald’s All-American game, becoming just the seventh Husky to make the team. McGaughy joins a list that includes Katie Collier (2012), Plum (2013), Deja Strother (2015), Mulkey (2016), Daniels (2020), and Avery Howell (2024). Of that group, four played for Langley at Washington.
Langley's focus on building a values-based program has had an incredible impact, not just on the players and staff, but on success off the court. Academic excellence has become a standard for the Huskies. With Langley at the helm, the program’s GPA improved from 3.20 to 3.46, and Washington has earned a perfect Academic Progress Rating from the NCAA for four consecutive years. The Huskies’ score, which accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for every academic term, is tied for the highest in the Big Ten. A number of Langley’s players have received accolades for their marks in the classroom, with 19 Washington athletes named Big Ten or Pac-12 All-Academic honorees. Olivia Anderson, Chloe Briggs, Teagan Brown, Dalayah Daniels, Shayla Gilmer, Elle Ladine, and Hannah Stines were named the team’s representatives this past season.
Building the Owls into a National Power
Given Langley's stellar track record as a coach, Washington's dramatic transformation should not have come as a surprise. Before Seattle, Langley revitalized the Rice women's basketball program and led the Owls to their greatest five-year stretch in program history. Her historic winning percentage of .674 (126-61) is not the only example of how Langley raised the bar at her first head-coaching stop. She also recorded an astonishing 44-4 (.916) record in conference play between 2018 and 2021 and took home Conference USA Coach of the Year honors in 2019. Before Langley arrived at Rice, the Owls had recorded only four 20-win seasons in 37 years, something Langley accomplished each of her last five seasons.
In her first three years, Langley transformed a team ranked second to last in their conference to a consensus AP Top 25 team with a final national ranking of 21. Along the way, the Owls made waves in the postseason with a WBI Championship (2017), WNIT Championship (2021), and two consecutive NCAA appearances (2019, 2020), including an automatic bid in 2020 after an undefeated season in the conference. Langley has coached in 15 postseason appearances and contributed to a combined 14 conference championships in the Big Ten, ACC, MAC, and C-USA.
In 2021, Rice captured its third-consecutive Conference USA title – a first among league schools – and won their first-ever WNIT Championship. The Owls finished 23-4 overall, 12-2 in Conference action. The Owls also set a single-game season record with a team field goal percentage of .481. Senior 6-foot-9 center Nancy Mulkey earned her third-consecutive C-USA Defensive Player of the Year award and was named to the Conference's First Team for a third-straight year. Mulkey was also a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist, finished top ten for the Lisa Leslie Award, and received Rice's Senior CLASS Award. For five weeks out of the season, a Rice player was named the C-USA Player of the Week (a program and conference record), and twice a Rice player was named C-USA Freshmen of the Week. At the end of the year, the team was named to the WBCA All-Academic Top 25 list, and two players received C-USA All-Academic Team honors.
In the equally impressive 2018-19 season, the Owls went 28-4 en route to winning both the Conference USA regular season (16-0) and tournament titles. The 28 wins, including 21 consecutive wins, established a new program record for the Owls, and Rice advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 14 years. They became just the third program in C-USA history to achieve a perfect record and still hold the longest win streak in conference history (21). That season, the Owls earned their first-ever AP Top-25 ranking, spending a total of five weeks in the poll while climbing as high as No. 21 before the NCAA Tournament. The Owls also appeared in the USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time in history at No. 23 before the NCAA Tournament. Following the historic season, Langley was named the Conference USA Coach of
the Year, becoming Rice's first and only Coach of the Year recipient.
By the time of Langley's departure, Rice led all of Conference USA in total assists (558) and total rebounds (1,308) while setting a Rice single-season record in made three-pointers (242). In addition, the Owl's 2019 team ranks second all-time in C-USA history for single-season field goal percentage (.465) and free throw percentage (.785).
Final Fours and Domination at Maryland
Prior to arriving at Rice, Langley spent seven successful seasons at the University of Maryland working as a member of Brenda Frese's staff. Langley served in the role of associate head coach her final five years in College Park. When Langley first arrived, the Terrapins had just come off an Elite Eight appearance and were in the midst of reloading their roster. In 2009, the program appeared in the WNIT tournament before launching into an impressive five-year stretch which culminated in back-to-back Final Fours in 2014 and 2015. In her last season at Maryland, the Terrapins went 18-0 in Big Ten play and set a school record by winning 28 straight games, reaching as high as No. 3 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Langley routinely helped the Terrapins bring in ranked recruiting classes—six total during her seven years and two in the top 10. In aggregate, she helped Maryland compile a 195-49 record during her stay and was named one of the Top 10 assistant coaches in the country by Silver Waves Media in 2013.
A Rising Coaching Star
Before arriving in College Park in 2008, Langley served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at both Georgia (2005) and Clemson (2003-05), working for Andy Landers (Georgia) and Jim Davis (Clemson). During her tenure with the Tigers, she helped assemble the program's highest-rated recruiting class up to that point.
Langley began her coaching career at the University of Toledo (1998-03), starting as a graduate assistant coach in 1998-99 before moving up to recruiting coordinator and then associate head coach during the 2002-03 campaign. She helped the Rockets reach the postseason three times, including two NCAA Tournament appearances. During her time with the Rockets, Toledo won three Mid-American Conference regular season titles (1999, 2001, and 2003) and two conference tournament crowns (1999 and 2001).
Langley played basketball and volleyball collegiately for two seasons at Bevill State Junior College before transferring to the University of West Alabama, where she lettered twice in basketball. She was inducted into the Tigers' Hall of Fame in 2016. She graduated from UWA with a degree in special education in 1996. Langley earned her first master's degree in Recreation and Leisure with an emphasis in recreation administration from the University of Toledo and would later go on to earn a Master of Arts in community counseling from the University of Alabama in 2008.
