‘A shared vision.’ UK rewards women’s basketball coach Kyra Elzy with contract extension.
After a title-winning season, Kyra Elzy has secured a contract extension to remain the head coach of the Kentucky women’s basketball program for a bit longer.
UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart announced Monday that Elzy would receive a contract extension through the 2027 season.
Terms of the contract were not released Monday.
Elzy was named full-time head coach of the UK women’s team in December 2020, after briefly leading the team on an interim basis after the resignation of former head coach Matthew Mitchell just prior to the season.
Elzy’s prior contract as head coach ran through June 2026 with a base salary of $400,000 per year.
“I want to thank Mr. Barnhart, President (Eli) Capilouto and our women’s basketball administrator Tiffany Hayden for believing in me and having a shared vision for this great program,” Elzy said Monday in a statement. “I am 100 percent confident in what we offer our student-athletes here at Kentucky. Our coaches and staff commit ourselves daily to our players. Their individual successes, on and off the court, is our collective success as a program.”
Elzy previously served as an assistant coach at Kentucky from 2008-2010, and as the associate head coach from 2010-2012.
She returned to Kentucky as the associate head coach from 2016-2020, when she became the interim and now full-time head coach.
In her two full seasons as Kentucky coach, Elzy has guided the Wildcats to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.
Elzy is the only head coach in UK women’s history to lead Kentucky to the NCAA Tournament in each of their first two seasons.
Kentucky reached the round of 32 in the 2021 NCAA Tournament and lost in the first round to Princeton in this year’s tournament.
But Elzy’s time as Kentucky head coach has also brought a championship back to Lexington.
Last month, Kentucky shocked eventual national champion South Carolina to win the Southeastern Conference Tournament, marking the first league tournament title for Kentucky since 1982.
According to Elzy’s prior contract, she earned a $50,000 bonus for winning the SEC Tournament.
This stunning turnaround came as Kentucky won 10 of its final 11 games of the season, including its final six regular-season games and all four games in the SEC Tournament. The Cats had previously been 9-11 overall and 2-8 in conference games.
Barnhart specifically referenced this turnaround in his statement on the extension given to Elzy.
“After the adversity the team faced throughout the season, the turnaround at the end of the year was impressive — defeating the eventual national champion and winning our first SEC Tournament championship in 40 years,” Barnhart said. “A strong step in building the championship vision we all have for this program.”
In total, Elzy has compiled a 37-21 record, including a 17-14 mark in regular season SEC games at Kentucky.
Elzy has stressed several core values in the UK program since becoming head coach: Accountability, hard work, discipline, servant leadership and family.
Elzy’s first two seasons as head coach have also come with some statement disciplinary moments from the former Tennessee women’s basketball star.
Ahead of her first games as head coach in November 2020, Elzy suspended defending SEC Player of the Year Rhyne Howard and returning starter Tatyana Wyatt for several games.
Prior to the 2021-22 season starting, Elzy dismissed guard Erin Toller from the team, and forward and key contributor Dre’una Edwards — who made the game-winning shot to win the SEC Tournament title for Kentucky — was twice suspended by Elzy during the season for a total of five games.
After the season ended in March, four UK players — Edwards, Treasure Hunt, Jazmine Massengill and Olivia Owens — all elected to enter their names into the NCAA transfer portal and probably will leave the UK program. Howard is also leaving the Kentucky team to turn pro.
Edwards, Hunt and Massengill announced their decisions to enter the transfer portal on the same day, and Elzy commented on those decisions during a subsequent television appearance on the SEC Network.
“I am confident in myself as a coach and a person, and what our staff does for our student-athletes on and off the court,” Elzy said. “I have a group of athletes on campus and signees that are excited about Kentucky women’s basketball.”
Kentucky has a five-player recruiting class this year, headlined by Miss Kentucky Basketball Amiya Jenkins from Anderson County High School.
This story was originally published April 4, 2022 at 6:20 PM.
