University of Tennessee at Chattanooga administrators had what they considered a solid set of targets to replace departed women’s basketball coach Shawn Poppie, who left to take over at Clemson last week after two seasons at UTC.
One said the list of candidates rivaled those put together when Will Wade stepped down as UTC men's basketball coach in 2015 for the Virginia Commonwealth University job.
Through it all, Valdosta State University head coach Deandra Schirmer was the most impressive to UTC, and on Thursday she was named the eighth head coach in the history of a program coming off its 50th season, its 20th Southern Conference tournament title and its 17th NCAA Division I tournament appearance.
Schirmer, a 34-year-old native of Holton, Kansas, was 114-31 in five seasons at VSU, a Division II program in South Georgia. The Lady Blazers finished the season ranked in the national top 25 three times during her tenure, and they advanced to the NCAA D-II tournament three times as well, reaching the Elite Eight in 2022.
“We’re very happy to welcome Deandra to Chattanooga,” athletic director Mark Wharton said in a UTC release. “It was a quick yet thorough process. I was once again humbled and thrilled that such a high level of applicants were interested in leading one of our programs. Once we got through the zoom sessions and face-to-face interviews, it was apparent to our team that Deandra is the right person to lead us forward among an incredibly competitive and gifted field.
“Deandra fits the values of who we are as a department and University. We’re excited to announce she is a part of the Mocs family.”
UTC has planned an introductory news conference for Schirmer at 2:30 p.m. Friday at Lupton Hall.
(READ MORE: Five things to know about new UTC women’s basketball coach Deandra Schirmer)
The Lady Blazers went 30-3 overall and 23-1 in the Gulf South Conference this past season, tying the program's record for single-season victories and setting a program record with a 27-game winning streak. Their GSC competition includes Lee University from nearby Cleveland, and last month VSU beat the Lady Flames to win the league tournament title — the fourth in program history and first since 2017 — before reaching the second round of the NCAA D-II tourney. The Atlanta Tipoff Club recognized Schirmer as the GSC women's coach of the year and honored her with a Whack Hyder Award as the Georgia women's college coach of the year for the 2023-24 season.
Prior to being hired by VSU, Schirmer spent four seasons as an assistant and one as associate head coach at Eckerd College, a D-II school in St. Petersburg, Florida. Her coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Georgia State in the 2013-14 season, with her experience with athletic events as part of a marketing program at the Atlanta school leading her back to basketball.
“I am humbled and honored to be the head women’s basketball coach at UTC,” Schirmer said in the release. “There is a tremendous tradition of success along with a fan base that is supportive of its women’s basketball program. I’m grateful to Dr. (Steven) Angle, Mark Wharton and his staff for providing me this opportunity to not only be a part of that tradition, but to take it to new heights."
(READ MORE: UTC plays its part in growth of women’s basketball)
After an all-state career at Holton High School, Schirmer stayed in her home state to play basketball at Cloud County Community College, where she received all-league recognition as a second-team selection in the Kansas Jayhawk Western Division Conference. She played her final two seasons at the University of South Carolina Aiken, where she averaged 6.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and helped the Pacers to the second round of the 2011 NCAA D-II tournament. Their 27 wins that season are still tied for the program record.
Schirmer followed her predecessor at VSU, Carley Kuhns, in leaving the Lady Blazers to take over a SoCon program. Kuhns was 66-29 in three seasons there before taking the Samford job in 2019.
In addition to UTC's SoCon tourney success — the Mocs are unbeaten in the league title game — the program has won 23 regular-season championships. The Mocs are coming off a 28-5 season in which they went 13-1 against league foes to earn the No. 1 seed for the SoCon tournament. They lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to N.C. State, which has advanced to the Final Four in Cleveland and will face South Carolina in a national semifinal Friday night.
N.C. State is led by Wes Moore, who is in his 11th season with the Wolfpack after spending the prior 15 years as UTC's head coach. Other previous coaches for the Mocs include Sharon Fanning-Otis, who went on to the Southeastern Conference and led Kentucky and Mississippi State to NCAA tourney appearances, and Jim Foster, who is in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
“It is very evident that the supportive administration and community have been instrumental in developing the tradition of success here at UTC,” Schirmer said in the release. “I am eager to get started and to meet all the fans and alumni that make this place so special.
“I’m excited to get to Chattanooga and get to work! Go Mocs!”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.