Georgia hired UCF's Katie Abrahamson-Henderson — a Bulldogs alumna — as its next head coach, it said on Saturday. Abrahamson-Henderson replaces Joni Taylor, who departed Athens to become Texas A&M's coach on Wednesday.
"This is a dream come true," Abrahamson-Henderson said in a statement.
Abrahamson-Henderson led UCF to a 131-49 record in six seasons, including NCAA Tournament appearances in 2019, 2021 and 2022. The Knights matched the school record for wins in a season this year, going 26-4 and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to second-seeded UConn.
She previously coached at Albany from 2010 to 2016, making five NCAA Tournaments in six years and winning the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament game. She led Missouri State to three tournaments in five seasons from 2002 to 2007.
Abrahamson-Henderson played at Georgia from 1985 to 1987, scoring 443 points in 64 games, before transferring to Iowa to finish her college career.
“When I signed a national letter of intent with Coach (Andy) Landers in 1985, this program was in the middle of a remarkable and unprecedented run of competing for SEC and national championships," Abrahamson-Henderson said. "In talking with (athletic director) Josh Brooks and (senior deputy director of athletics) Darrice Griffin, our vision and belief that Georgia will compete for championships and postseason success lined up perfectly. I am so ready to get started.”
Georgia went 21-10 this season and earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs defeated Dayton in the first round before losing to Iowa State.
(Photo: M. Anthony Nesmith / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Why is Abrahamson-Henderson the right fit in Athens?
Seth Emerson, Georgia beat writer: The connection is one thing, but tenuous: She played her first two seasons at Georgia, for legendary coach Andy Landers, before transferring to Iowa. But now she returns potentially as the right coach at the right time for a program that has recruited well but hit a wall when it comes to the NCAA Tournament: The Bulldogs haven’t reached the Sweet 16 since 2013.
For what it’s worth, Abrahamson-Henderson had UCF much closer to UConn in its second-round game this year (52-47) than Georgia was in its second-round loss to Iowa State (67-44).
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What are expectations for Georgia in Year 1?
Chantel Jennings, senior women’s basketball writer: We know that Abrahamson-Henderson can coach and develop talent (see: UCF, Albany), but it’s difficult to fully know what Abrahamson-Henderson will be able to do next season until we know the full roster. This team is going to feature loads of turnover — the Bulldogs will lose Mikayla Coombs, Jenna Staiti and Que Morrison to graduation; Sarah Ashlee Barker has already announced her intention to transfer. But Georgia isn’t the only SEC team that will have a turnover in several key positions from this season to next — LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Kentucky are all in that mix.
If Abrahamson-Henderson can bring in some talent through the portal while continuing to bring in recruiting talent, the Bulldogs won’t necessarily take a step backward in conference play.
How can she build this program over the next 5 years?
Jennings: This is what I’m most excited to see. We’ve never seen Abrahamson-Henderson coach at a Power 5 school. She has never had the resources that she’s about to have. If she has been able to bring mid-majors to the tournament and push UConn to the brink in the second round with her UCF team, just imagine what she can do with the kind of financial support that Georgia will throw behind her.
I think Ole Miss is a good place to look. Yolett McPhee-McCuin, who’d had success at the mid-major level, took that program over when it was in a far worse position than Georgia. In five years, she got the team into the top third of the SEC and into the NCAA Tournament (after being left out of it for 15 seasons).
The cupboard is far more stocked in Athens, where the program has had more recent history to lean on in recruiting and program building. Abrahamson-Henderson certainly has an opportunity to do something special in the next five years with the Bulldogs.
