Shea Ralph Sweeps Coaching Awards: The Anchor
In this story:
If there was any doubt as to which women’s college basketball coach should have won the Coach of the Year Award before Thursday, there is not any at all now.
Vanderbilt women’s basketball head coach Shea Ralph swept the coaching awards, per a Thursday media release. Thursday afternoon, the Associated Press announced that Ralph was the outlet’s 2026 Coach of the Year in women’s basketball after leading Vanderbilt to a 29-5 record and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
But that just scratched the surface of Ralph’s postseason recognition. Ralph also won the Coach of the Year Award from the WBCA, USBWA while also winning the Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s Coach of the Year. When it was all said and done, a total of seven different outlets named Ralph their Coach of the Year.
The recognition and plethora of awards that Ralph earned is something that was rightfully won. Vanderbilt far surpassed preseason expectations as Ralph led the Commodores to its highest season win total in program history and also winning the most SEC games it has won in a season in program history with 13.
Vanderbilt finished second in a loaded SEC conference while making a run to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009. In five seasons, Ralph has taken Vanderbilt to heights it has not seen in quite some time.
Countdown to Vanderbilt’s 2026 Football Spring Game
15 days
The Anchor: Friday, April 3, 2026
- Vanderbilt women’s basketball star Mikayla Blakes is one of four finalists for the Honda Award. The award is given to the top women’s athlete in the 12 NCAA sanctioned sports.
- Eight Vanderbilt bowling athletes were named to the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll, the conference announced Thursday. The athletes maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better with at least one completed semester.
- Vanderbilt women’s golf athlete Ava Merrill made the cut and advanced to the final round of the Augusta Women’s National Amateur event. Merrill is tied for 14th place with one round to go with a score of 1-under par 71.
Thursday’s Commodores Results
Vanderbilt baseball beat No. 20 Texas A&M 14-8.
Vanderbilt men’s tennis lost to No. 21 Florida 4-1.
Vanderbilt women’s tennis lost to No. 8 Oklahoma 4-3.
Friday’s Commodores Schedule
Vanderbilt men’s golf at the Mason Rudolph Championship, Day 1 at 8 a.m. CT
Vanderbilt baseball at No. 20 Texas A&M, 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
Vanderbilt track and field at the Florida Relays, Day 1.
Vanderbilt bowling at the Rochester Regional, NCAA Tournament, Day 1.
Commodores Quote of The Day
“Yeah it’s definitely interesting to see a guy’s true colors in a time of adversity. That’s when the real you begins to show. You can ignore it or accept it.”Earl Bennett
We’ll Leave You With This…
When Colin Barczi’s going deep, he’s doing so in bunches. All six of his home runs this season have come in just two games.
— Dylan Tovitz (@dtovitz) April 3, 2026
A pretty good sign that that shoulder is getting closer to full strength: pic.twitter.com/H241B2quhA
Follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Threads and Blue Sky for the latest news.
Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
Follow GrahamBaakko