Marquette is now in need of a new women’s basketball head coach.
Megan Duffy, after five seasons at the helm of the Golden Eagles, is going to be the head coach of Virginia Tech, the program announced Wednesday.
Accomplished player
Proven winner
Inspirational leaderWelcome to Hokie Nation @CoachMeganDuffy
🗞️ » https://t.co/kSGK7jONCu pic.twitter.com/i4JgoGPcN1
— Virginia Tech Women’s Basketball (@HokiesWBB) April 3, 2024
Duffy posted an overall record of 110-46, going 64-30 in Big East play. Her winning percentage (70.5%) is the best in Marquette women’s basketball history. She became the fastest coach to reach the 100-win mark when the Golden Eagles beat Xavier Jan. 6, 2023.
In Duffy’s tenure, the Golden Eagles made three trips to the NCAA Tournament — though they failed to post a win, going 0-3 — and earned a pair of runner-up finishes in both the regular season and conference tournament. Duffy was named the Big East Coach of the Year after her first season as head coach.
“In her five years with us, Megan and her staff have had tremendous success leading us to four postseason appearances,” Marquette vice president and director of athletics Bill Scholl said in a statement.
“She has been an incredible leader for our program and department and a great mentor to our student-athletes. We wish her and her husband, Kevin, nothing but great success in this next chapter of her career.”
Duffy was hired in 2019 to replace former coach Carolyn Kieger, who left to go to Penn State.
This season, Marquette had its best start in program history (12-0), which gave the Golden Eagles their AP Poll highest-ranking under Duffy (No. 18) and made them one of 10 teams in the country to go undefeated in non-conference play.
But, Marquette finished the year 11-7 in the Big East after losing multiple conference games due to fourth quarter scoring droughts.
Once the season ended at the hands of Ole Miss in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, all five Golden Eagle starters left the program.
Senior Jordan King and graduate student Frannie Hottinger ran out of eligibility. Seniors Liza Karlen and Rose Nkumu both had an extra year they could have exercised at Marquette, but chose not to — Karlen entered the transfer portal.
Sophomore guard Kenzie Hare also entered the transfer portal. Her departure marked the third time in four years that an underclassmen transferred out of the program under Duffy. Monday April 8, junior guard Lee Volker entered the transfer portal too.
Before Duffy left, Marquette had three incoming players in the class of 2024, Kayl Petersen, Leila Wells and Jaeda Wilson. Petersen was Duffy’s highest-ranked recruit at Marquette (No. 67 on 2024 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings). In 2025, the Golden Eagles also received a verbal commitment from Amani Jenkins.
But, Petersen, Jenkins and Wilson all announced they would be re-opening their recruiting processes in light of Duffy’s exit. Wells has not announced a decision yet.
Marquette said a national search for a new head coach will begin immediately.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to accurately portray recruits that de-committed from Marquette and the players that entered the transfer portal after Duffy left.
This article was written by Jack Albright. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @JackAlbrightMU.
