Northwestern Head Coach Joe McKeown to Retire After 2025-26 Season
Joe McKeown is taking one last ride.
The longtime Northwestern women's basketball head coach is the winningest in Wildcat basketball history, having accrued 268 wins over 17 seasons. McKeown, who will turn 69 in May, announced on Monday afternoon that the 2025-26 season would be his last.
"Seventeen years ago on a golf course in Washington, D.C., Wildcat legend Michael Wilbon said I should look at Northwestern," McKeown said. "I did, and we never looked back! I am excited to coach the Wildcats this upcoming 2025-26 season. It has been an honor to be in Evanston for the past 17 years. We brought Northwestern its first Big Ten championship in 30 years, went to multiple NCAA Tournaments, and put plenty of Wildcats in the WNBA and other pro leagues."
McKeown's final season will be his 40th as a head coach and 18th with the Wildcats.
After beginning his head coaching career at New Mexico State in 1986, McKeown spent 19 years with George Washington. He led the Colonials to 10 A-10 regular season titles, 15 NCAA Tournament appearances and a 441-154 record, including the Elite Eight in 1997.
Northwestern had less than 10 wins in each season from 1999-00 to 2008-09, but McKeown turned the program around almost instantly. McKeown joined Northwestern in 2008 and led the 'Cats to a winning record in just his second season. In 2015, the Wildcats made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 18 years.
The 'Cats won the Big Ten in 2019-20, posting a 26-4 overall record and a 16-2 Big Ten resume. The postseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, robbing Northwestern of a chance to continue its historic season. NU was ranked No. 11 in the postseason AP Poll.
Northwestern reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2021, but fell just short of a postseason berth in 2022. In the last three seasons, NU has combined for just a 27-60 record.
McKeown is the winningest active women's basketball head coach in the Big Ten and has the fourth-most wins among active Division I coaches.
With McKeown at the helm, Northwestern has also produced four WNBA draft picks. Nia Coffey (5th overall, 2017 Draft) and Veronica Burton (7th overall, 2022 Draft) were both selected in the first round, while Lindsey Pulliam (2021 Draft) and Amy Jaeschke (2011 Draft) were taken in the third round.
"Coach McKeown has embodied the very best of Northwestern University throughout his incredible career," Athletic Director Mark Jackson said in a press release. "His dedication, leadership, and unwavering commitment to his student-athletes have left an indelible mark on our athletic department and on our entire university community. Beyond the wins and accolades, Coach McKeown has been a mentor, a role model, and a true champion of what it means to be a Wildcat."
McKeown said after the 2024-25 season ended that he planned to utilize the transfer portal heavily in the upcoming offseason to rebuild the team. The Wildcats will return starters Caroline Lau, Casey Harter and Grace Sullivan and are set to welcome the No. 105 recruit in the nation, Angelina Hodgens.
No successor to McKeown has been named at the time of publishing.
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Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and covers a handful of other teams in the On SI network. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.