Jeff Walz named co-2019 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year

Congratulations to U of L women’s basketball coach Jeff Walz on being named the 2019 co-USA Basketball National Coach of the Year. Walz led the USA Women’s U19 World Cup Team to gold from July 20-28 in Bangkok, Thailand. He shared the award with Kansas State men’s head coach Bruce Weber, who coached the U19 men’s team.

“It definitely an honor,” Walz said of the award. “And also, it shows what type of staff we had. I was very fortunate to be able to work with Cori (Close) and Natasha (Adair) the past two years. And then the players, obviously you don’t get such an award without having an outstanding staff and a good team.”

With Walz leading the way, the USA U19 women topped its competition by an average of 25.2 points per game on their way to the gold medal. USA guard Paige Bueckers, who is headed to UConn to play for Geno Auriemma, was impressed with Walz.

“I just think he is really smart, and he cared about our team a whole lot, and not just on the court, but off the court, too,” Bueckers said. “He made me a better player and opened my eyes to what college is going to be like, and potentially, if I get there, the professional level, because his IQ for the game is so high. He taught me new things about the game.”

You can read the full press release from USA Basketball here.