Kentucky fires women's basketball coach Kyra Elzy

Field Level Media|published: Mon 11th March, 13:50 2024

Jan 15, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Kyra Elzy disputes a call against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first half at Colonial Life Arena. credits: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky fired women's basketball coach Kyra Elzy on Monday, two years removed from a Southeastern Conference tournament championship.

The Wildcats posted 12-win campaigns in the two years since, including 12-20 this season, 4-12 in the conference. Kentucky fell to Tennessee 76-62 in the second round of the SEC tourney last Thursday.

Elzy posted a 61-60 record in four seasons, 23-40 in the SEC.

"I appreciate Kyra for her efforts at Kentucky, on and off the court, and wish her and her family the best in the future," athletics director Mitch Barnhart said in a news release.

Elzy had been on the Kentucky staff for two stints totaling eight years when head coach Matthew Mitchell retired just before the start of the 2020-21 season. Elzy, then the associate head coach, was made interim head coach, and the interim tag was removed that December.

Her first team went 18-9 (9-6 SEC) and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The next season, the Wildcats went 19-12 (8-8 SEC) and knocked off top-ranked and eventual national champion South Carolina for Kentucky's first SEC tournament crown since 1982.

—Field Level Media