Idaho hires Nebraska-Kearney women's basketball coach

MOSCOW — University of Nebraska at Kearney head coach Carrie Eighmey has been named the 10th head women's basketball coach at Idaho, Vandals athletic director Terry Gawlik announced.

"Coach Eighmey is a winner, pure and simple," Gawlik said. "She has been successful at every step in her career, and has built that success with strong recruiting, hard work, and a passion for preparing young women to be their best selves on and off the court. She is committed to elevating our program through a student-athlete centered approach, and we could not be more excited for the future of Vandal women's basketball."

Eighmey replaces Jon Newlee, who coached Idaho for 15 seasons and is the program's all-time leader in wins with a 257-213 (.547) overall record, including a 167-96 (.635) record in conference games.

Earlier this month, Idaho announced the school and Newlee agreed to part ways.

Idaho went 27-35 under Newlee the past two seasons, including 13-17 this past season.

A press conference introducing Eighmey (pronounced Amy) will be announced at a later date, but she was scheduled to be in attendance at Friday night's Vandal football spring game.

Eighmey joins the Vandals after serving as the head coach at UNK for eight seasons, highlighted by three straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearances from 2021-23, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2021. She led Nebraska-Kearney to its first MIAA championship ever in the 2020-21 season and earning the regular-season title in 2022-23.

Eighmey brings over 19 years of coaching experience, including 11 as a head coach. She averaged 25 wins per year with seven teams recording 20+ win seasons and tallied a .689 winning percentage.

"I am thrilled to be the next women's head coach at the University of Idaho," Eighmey said. "We will focus on creating positive and impactful experiences for our student-athletes on and off the court," Eighmey continued. "We aim to build a top-tier, highly respected program in the Big Sky and most importantly, make it to the big dance."

During the 2022-23 season, Eighmey led the Lopers to their first regular season MIAA conference title in program history. UNK boasted a 28-5 overall record and went 20-2 in conference, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The MIAA tabbed Eighmey as the conference's Coach of the Year and earned her WBCA Division II Coach of the Year honors.

In her first year at UNK, Eighmey lifted UNK to their first winning season since 2009. The 2015-16 season saw the Lopers make it to the MIAA conference quarterfinals for the first time in program history.

Eighmey leaves UNK as the Lopers' second-winningest coach with an overall record of 165-74 (.690), including 101-23 over the past four seasons. She led the team to two MIAA conference titles, one regular season title, and 17 wins over nationally ranked opponents. .

Prior to UNK, Eighmey served as head coach at her alma mater, Hastings College in Hastings, Neb., from 2012-15. Under Eighmey, the team had two 20+ win seasons and reached the NAIA Division II Tournament quarterfinals in 2014 and the semifinals in 2015. She had an overall record of 68-31 (.687) and a conference record of 41-19.

Before Eighmey earned the title of head coach, she served eight total years as an assistant coach at Fort Hays State University and Hastings College. Eighmey was the head assistant coach at both institutions for four years each. She began her coaching career at Hastings in 2004 and transitioned over to Fort Hays in 2008.

Eighmey played at Hastings from 2000-2004, and is the all-time leader in career assists and steals. She is still ranked ninth in school history with 1,508 career points and fourth with 244 3-pointers. During her time, the Broncos reached the NAIA Tournament every year, highlighted by national championships in 2002 and 2003. Eighmey earned First Team All-American honors as well.

Eighmey will announce her entire basketball staff at a later date.