Iowa Women's Basketball Adds 2 Coaches

Randi Henderson, Sean Sullivan Join Staff

Randi Henderson. (Photo: washubears.com) /

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa P. Sue Beckwith, MD, head women’s basketball coach, Jan Jensen has announced the addition of two new staff members, Randi Henderson and Sean Sullivan, both UI graduates. Henderson will serve as an assistant coach while Sullivan will be an assistant coach/general manager.

  

Henderson spent the last seven seasons at WashU in St. Louis as the head women’s basketball coach. Henderson’s teams went 103-54 (.656) with four NCAA Tournament appearances. She guided the Bears to four top three finishes in the University Athletic Association in seven seasons.

 

Henderson led the Bears to the UAA Title in 2018-19 as the team went 13-1 during conference play. WashU proceeded have a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the sectional finals with a trio of victories and concluded the year with a 22-7 mark.

 

The success of the Bears led to Henderson being named the Central Region Coach of the Year by D3hoops.com. She and her assistant coaches were named the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year, as well.

 

In her first season on the Danforth Campus, Henderson led the Bears to a 19-8 record. The Bears earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the second round.

 

During 2017-18, WashU's offense finished in the top-10 nationally in six categories including second in 3-point field goal percentage (40.8), fourth in assists per game (19.0), fifth in field-goal percentage (46.0), ninth in scoring offense (78.2), ninth in assists (514) and 10th in free-throw percentage (76.7). The Bears also ranked in the top-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.22) and assists (517) in 2018-19.

 

Henderson arrived at WashU after spending two years as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Charlotte. She also spent nine years as head coach at Coe College (2006-15) and one season at University of Minnesota-Morris (2005-06).

 

In her first season with the 49ers, Henderson made an immediate impact and helped guide Charlotte to a 19-11 record, top-four Conference USA Championship ranking and one of the best offensive campaigns in program history. The 49ers topped the league in scoring (74.7 ppg) and field goal percentage (45.5), finishing among the top-25 nationally in both categories. In her final season, Charlotte posted a 21-10 record and advanced to the Conference USA Quarterfinals.

 

Henderson joined the Niners after a nine-year stint as the head women’s basketball coach at Coe College. She also served as the department’s assistant athletic director and senior women’s administrator.

 

She led the Kohawks to a school-best three 20-plus win seasons, including a school-record 26 on their way to the NCAA Sectional Semifinals in 2010-11. Coe finished with a 14-2 mark in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) that season, sharing the league’s regular-season crown before picking up the tournament title.

 

She received two IIAC Coach of the Year honors (2010, 2011) and a nod as the WBCA West Region Coach of the Year during her Coe tenure. Her overall record with the program was 155-91 (.630), the most wins by any head coach in school history. She also guided the Kohawks to a 90-48 (.652) ledger in conference action during her nine-year stint.

 

Prior to arriving at Coe, Henderson spent one season at Minnesota Morris (UMM) where she earned Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year accolades. She directed the Cougars to a 16-10 record, including 10 wins in league play to tie for second. She was an assistant at UMM for two seasons, 2003-04 and 2004-05, prior to her elevation to head coach.

 

A native of Cedar Falls, Iowa, she began her coaching career as a volunteer at Athens High School in Athens, Ohio, as a graduate teaching assistant.

 

Henderson played collegiately at the University of Iowa, where she was a three-year starter and team captain for the Hawkeyes. She helped guide the Hawkeyes to a pair of NCAA Tournaments (1998, 2001) and the 2001 Big Ten Tournament Championship. Jensen coached Henderson her final season with the Hawkeyes in 2000-01.

 

She graduated from UI in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in health, leisure and sport studies. Henderson received a master’s degree in recreation and sport sciences at Ohio University in 2003. She was named Iowa Miss Basketball in 1997.  

 

Sullivan served as the director of player personnel, development, and recruiting operations at North Carolina for two seasons. In June of 2023, his title was updated to reflect his added role as an assistant coach for the Tar Heels in his third year with the program. 

 

Prior to North Carolina, Sullivan was the director of video for the women's basketball program at Pitt for two seasons. For two years prior to that, he was part of the Penn State women's basketball staff, serving as director of scouting & digital technology.

 

As an undergraduate at UI, he spent four years as a women's basketball manager, then became the team's video coordinator. He also spent a summer as video coordinator for USA Basketball, where he was part of the women's squad that won silver at the 2015 Pan Am Games.