Chattanooga head coach Jim Foster watches his team practice for the NCAA women's college basketball tournament in this 2014 file photo.University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball coach Jim Foster was selected Southern Conference coach of the year in voting by both the league's coaches and media.
Foster, in his second season at UTC, guided the Mocs to a perfect 14-0 SoCon record, a 26-3 overall record and wins over two Top 10 teams. The team's success has UTC ranked No. 17 in the latest Associated Press women's Top 25.
Also, UTC sophomores Jasmine Joyner and Chelsey Shumpert were first-team All-SoCon selections while Keiana Gilbert was named to the all-freshmen team by both the media and coaches.
In the coaches balloting, UTC junior Alicia "Red" Payne was named defensive player of the year, and senior Kayla Freeman was awarded the Ann Lashley Inspiration Award after staying with the Mocs as a student coach after having to give up playing basketball because of injuries.
The Mocs will begin postseason play Thursday at noon at the SoCon tournament in Asheville, N.C., with a first-round game against UNC Greensboro.