Inside The Panthers

Report: Pitt Hires Tory Verdi as Women's Basketball HC

The Pitt Panthers have a new women's basketball head coach.

Stephen Thompson

Report: Pitt Hires Tory Verdi as Women's Basketball HC
Report: Pitt Hires Tory Verdi as Women's Basketball HC /
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PITTSBURGH -- A short search has ended and the Pitt Panthers now have a new woman's basketball head coach. 

According to a report from Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, athletic director Heather Lyke has settled on someone to replace former head coach Lance White, who was dismissed at the end of last season. Hiles reports that this week, UMass head coach Tory Verdi informed his players that he would be leaving his current role to accept the head coaching job at Pitt. 

Under his leadership, the Minuitewomen have won 20 games or more in three of the last four seasons after winning 20 or more games once in 35 years prior to his arrival. Last season, UMass won 27 games its first regular season conference title in program history. In 2021-22, the Minutewoman won their conference tournament and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998. 

Verdi has a connection to Lyke, working under her as the woman's basketball head coach at Eastern Michigan from 2012 to 2016, a tenure during which he made the WNIT twice. 

The Panthers parted ways with White after five lackluster years. He amassed a 42-99 record as head coach at Pitt, including a dismal 11-74 mark in conference play. 

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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