Updated Lady Vols Head Coach Hot Board

Melanie Balcomb

Head Coaching Record:

Ashland head coach (1993-94): 28-26
Xavier head coach (1995-2002): 135-78
Vanderbilt head coach (2002-16): 309-142

Pros:

It’s weird to call a 56-year-old coach an “up and comer” in the coaching world, but that’s the most apt title for Melanie Balcomb on this hot board. For the last couple Balcomb has been out of coaching, stepping down from her position as associate head coach at Texas Tech to deal with a family medical issue in 2017. Before that, though, she had a great deal of success as the head coach of Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball program. She ended her time at Vanderbilt as the winningest head coach in Commodores’ history, going 309-142 in her 14 seasons there. She took Vanderbilt to the NCAA 12 times and got to the Sweet Sixteen four times. She also reached the Elite Eight with Xavier in 2001.

Cons:

Balcomb has been out of coaching for over a year, and she was let go at Vanderbilt for a reason. She failed to make it to the NCAA Tournament each of her last two seasons, and the Commodores hadn’t made it back to the Sweet Sixteen since 2009. She might make a good assistant for the head coach at Tennessee, but she seems a questionable hire for head coach herself.