HOPEWELL, N.J. – On Wednesday, Her Hoop Stats officially released their midseason 2025 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award Watch List, with UTSA women’s basketball’s Karen Aston making the cut.
Aston was one of 10 coaches chosen following a historic start to the campaign that’s seen the squad go 16-2, including an incredible 7-0 start to American Athletic Conference play. The Roadrunners have been undefeated at home thus far, and two lone losses on the year have come from perennial powerhouse programs in Stanford and Texas A&M by a combined nine points. UTSA ranks inside the top 50 on the NCAA leader board in several statistics, including rebound margin (+10.8 - 9th), scoring defense (55.9 - 25th), offensive rebounds per game (15.2 - 19th), winning percentage (88.9% - 14th), field goal percentage defense (36.9% -35th) and blocks per game (4.3-39th).
Five finalists for the award will be announced in March, with the winner being announced around the Final Four. Coaches are graded on the entire season, including postseason play. Beyond on-court success, other factors such as recruiting, preseason expectations, injuries, and tactical coaching are also weighed when assessing each candidate.
About Kathy Delaney-Smith
Delaney-Smith’s Harvard teams compiled a record of 630-434 (.592) in her 40-year career, including a 367-168 (.685) record in Ivy League play. Delaney-Smith’s 630 wins rank 32nd in Division I history, and ninth among coaches who spent their entire career with a single team.
Delaney-Smith led her teams to six NCAA Tournament appearances and nine WNIT appearances, plus three Ivy League titles before the NCAA Tournament awarded automatic bids to the Ivy League champion. She has coached eight Ivy League Player of the Year recipients, six Ivy League Rookie of the Year winners, and all 22 of Harvard’s 1,000-point scorers in the program’s NCAA Division I history.
Delaney-Smith was inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1986, becoming the first woman to ever be inducted, with more than three decades of her career still ahead of her. She was also inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.
A native of Newton, Mass., Delaney-Smith is also among the most accomplished high school players and coaches in the state’s history. She was the first woman in state history to score 1,000 points while at Sacred Heart High School. As a high school coach, Delaney-Smith coached Westwood High School to an overall record of 204-31 across 11 seasons, including a 96-game winning streak.
The full 2025 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award Watch List can be found below:
- Carly Thibault-DuDonis, Fairfield
- Vanessa Blair-Lewis, George Mason
- Carrie Moore, Harvard
- Larry Vickers, Norfolk St.
- Carla Berube, Princeton
- Tricia Fabbri, Quinnipiac
- Aaron Roussell, Richmond
- Aaron Johnston, South Dakota St.
- Lindy La Rocque, UNLV
- Karen Aston, UTSA
Keep up with UTSA Women’s Basketball all season long on goutsa.com, and by following the program on Facebook at /UTSAWBB, Twitter @UTSAWBB, and on Instagram @UTSA_WBB.
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