Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Josh Wang
Griffith Named to Kathy Delaney-Smith Award Watch List
10/29/2025 12:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Award recognizes the best mid-major coach in women’s college basketball
HOPEWELL, N.J. – Columbia women's basketball head coach Megan Griffith has been named to the preseason watch list for the 2026 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. Now in its third year of existence, the award recognizes the best mid-major coach in Women's Division I college basketball.
Columbia is coming off a 2024-25 campaign in which it won the outright Ivy League Regular Season Championship. It was the program's third straight Ivy League title overall. Griffith led Columbia to an overall record of 24-7 with a 13-1 Ivy League mark. The Lions advanced to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection for the second consecutive season and picked up their first NCAA Tournament win. Columbia rallied from 13 points down to defeat Washington, 63-60, in Chapel Hill.
Over the last four seasons, the Lions are a combined 100-27 (.787) with a 50-6 (.893) record in Ivy League play.
Griffith was a finalist for last year's Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award. She was also a finalist for the WBCA National Coach of the Year, named the Ivy League Coach of the Year for a third straight season, named Coach of the Year by the Asian Coaches Association, and also named the Met Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) Women's Division I Coach of the Year.
Since returning to her alma mater in 2016, Griffith has transformed Columbia into a perennial Ivy League powerhouse and national contender. After having just one winning season over its first 34 years as a Division I program, Columbia has now won three straight Ivy League Championships and been to four consecutive postseason tournaments under Griffith, including the WNIT Championship game in 2023, and the NCAA Tournament in both 2024 and 2025.
Award Eligibility & Schedule
To be eligible for the award, coaches must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be "mid-major." The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Additionally, Oregon State and Washington State remain ineligible this season as membership in the Pac-12 Conference evolves. Interim head coaches are eligible, though total games coached were taken into consideration.
The 10-person midseason watch list will be announced in January. The five finalists for the award will be announced in March, with the winner being named around the Final Four. Coaches will be assessed across the entire season, including postseason play. Beyond on-court success, other factors such as recruiting, preseason expectations, injuries, and tactical coaching will also be weighed when assessing each candidate. Inclusion on previous watch lists is not a requirement to be considered for future watch lists.
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.
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 nine Ivy League Player of the Year recipients, six Ivy League Rookie of the Year winners, and the first 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.
2026 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award Watch List*
· Bart Brooks, Belmont
· Megan Griffith, Columbia
· Tamika Williams-Jeter, Dayton
· Carly Thibault-DuDonis, Fairfield
· Vanessa Blair-Lewis, George Mason
· Carrie Moore, Harvard
· Sean O'Regan, James Madison
· Addie Micir, Lehigh
· Amy Eagan, Lindenwood
· Tricia Binford, Montana St.
· Rechelle Turner, Murray St.
· Carla Berube, Princeton
· Maria Marchesano, Purdue Fort Wayne
· Tricia Fabbri, Quinnipiac
· Aaron Roussel, Richmond
· Cindy Griffin, Saint Joseph's
· Aaron Johnston, South Dakota St.
· Lindy La Rocque, UNLV
· Karen Aston, UTSA
· Alisa Kresge, Vermont
*Coaches can make their way onto and off the list at any point in the 2025-26 season
FOLLOW THE LIONS:
For the latest on Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
Columbia is coming off a 2024-25 campaign in which it won the outright Ivy League Regular Season Championship. It was the program's third straight Ivy League title overall. Griffith led Columbia to an overall record of 24-7 with a 13-1 Ivy League mark. The Lions advanced to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection for the second consecutive season and picked up their first NCAA Tournament win. Columbia rallied from 13 points down to defeat Washington, 63-60, in Chapel Hill.
Over the last four seasons, the Lions are a combined 100-27 (.787) with a 50-6 (.893) record in Ivy League play.
Griffith was a finalist for last year's Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award. She was also a finalist for the WBCA National Coach of the Year, named the Ivy League Coach of the Year for a third straight season, named Coach of the Year by the Asian Coaches Association, and also named the Met Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) Women's Division I Coach of the Year.
Since returning to her alma mater in 2016, Griffith has transformed Columbia into a perennial Ivy League powerhouse and national contender. After having just one winning season over its first 34 years as a Division I program, Columbia has now won three straight Ivy League Championships and been to four consecutive postseason tournaments under Griffith, including the WNIT Championship game in 2023, and the NCAA Tournament in both 2024 and 2025.
Award Eligibility & Schedule
To be eligible for the award, coaches must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be "mid-major." The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Additionally, Oregon State and Washington State remain ineligible this season as membership in the Pac-12 Conference evolves. Interim head coaches are eligible, though total games coached were taken into consideration.
The 10-person midseason watch list will be announced in January. The five finalists for the award will be announced in March, with the winner being named around the Final Four. Coaches will be assessed across the entire season, including postseason play. Beyond on-court success, other factors such as recruiting, preseason expectations, injuries, and tactical coaching will also be weighed when assessing each candidate. Inclusion on previous watch lists is not a requirement to be considered for future watch lists.
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.
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 nine Ivy League Player of the Year recipients, six Ivy League Rookie of the Year winners, and the first 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.
2026 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award Watch List*
· Bart Brooks, Belmont
· Megan Griffith, Columbia
· Tamika Williams-Jeter, Dayton
· Carly Thibault-DuDonis, Fairfield
· Vanessa Blair-Lewis, George Mason
· Carrie Moore, Harvard
· Sean O'Regan, James Madison
· Addie Micir, Lehigh
· Amy Eagan, Lindenwood
· Tricia Binford, Montana St.
· Rechelle Turner, Murray St.
· Carla Berube, Princeton
· Maria Marchesano, Purdue Fort Wayne
· Tricia Fabbri, Quinnipiac
· Aaron Roussel, Richmond
· Cindy Griffin, Saint Joseph's
· Aaron Johnston, South Dakota St.
· Lindy La Rocque, UNLV
· Karen Aston, UTSA
· Alisa Kresge, Vermont
*Coaches can make their way onto and off the list at any point in the 2025-26 season
FOLLOW THE LIONS:
For the latest on Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
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