‘A wealth of knowledge.’ Former college head coach joins UK women’s basketball staff.
An offseason of roster changes for the Kentucky women’s basketball program likely came to an end Monday, with the addition of a new assistant coach.
Former Wake Forest women’s basketball head coach Jen Hoover was announced as the third assistant coach for UK, joining Niya Butts and Amber Smith on head coach Kyra Elzy’s staff.
Hoover will take the assistant coach spot vacated by Gail Goestenkors, who announced her retirement from on-court coaching this summer.
Hoover is the all-time winningest head coach in Wake Forest history, and spent 10 years in that role from 2012 until 2022.
Hoover was fired from her post at Wake Forest in May. All three assistant coaches from the 2021-22 Wake Forest team left the program prior to Hoover’s firing.
She finished her tenure at Wake Forest with a 162-183 overall record and a 62-124 mark in the ACC.
Under Hoover’s direction, Wake Forest made four postseason appearances, including the NCAA Tournament in 2021. This marked only the second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
Prior to her time at Wake Forest, Hoover spent one year as the head coach at High Point.
“Jen brings a wealth of knowledge, a competitive spirit and a contagious energy to the bluegrass,” Elzy said in Monday’s announcement. “These are vital attributes that will make an immediate impact on our program. Jen’s coaching philosophy on and off the court align with our core values at Kentucky.”
Hoover’s assistant coaching career began in 1994 and has included stops at California, Virginia, Memphis, James Madison, East Carolina, VCU and Missouri-Kansas City.
While at California from 2008 until 2011, Hoover helped the program reach its first NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and win a WNIT championship.
“From the moment Coach Elzy and I began conversations about this position, I could feel the passion and energy she has for her players,” Hoover said in Monday’s announcement. “I could see her vision for the program, which is to win championships both on and off the court.”
Hoover played college basketball at Wake Forest as a post player from 1987 until 1991. She was a three-time All-ACC selection and remains second on the school’s career statistics leaderboard for points (1,728) and rebounds (1,006).
Hoover was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.
Her addition to the UK coaching staff probably brings an end to a summer of change in Lexington.
The Wildcats saw six players depart the program from the 2021-22 team that won the SEC Tournament and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament: Olivia Owens (Syracuse), Jazmine Massengill (Florida State), walk-on Kristen Crenshaw-Gill (New Orleans), Treasure Hunt (Arizona State), Dre’una Edwards (Baylor) and star Rhyne Howard (WNBA).
UK has added 10 newcomers to its roster: Six freshmen and four transfers. The holdovers from last year’s team are Robyn Benton, Blair Green (who didn’t play last season due to injury), Jada Walker, Nyah Leveretter and Emma King.
Last week, Kentucky’s SEC opponents for the 2022-23 season were announced.
UK will also take part in the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship in November in the Bahamas. UK will play Virginia Tech on Nov. 21 and Dayton on Nov. 23.
This story was originally published July 11, 2022 at 3:04 PM.
