Top 5 Utah State head coach candidates after Aggies fire Kayla Ard ft. Coach Adia Barnes 

Utah State coach Kayla Ard announced her removal from the job during a press meet after the Aggies' 85-49 loss to Boise State.

When asked about rebuilding the team for the next season after the season wrap, Ard said:

“I’m not gonna be rebuilding. I just coached my last game at Utah State.”

From the time she took over in 2020, Utah State regressed, going from 17-16 in 2018-19 to 4–20 in Kayla Ard's first year.

They improved slightly in the 2020-21 season to 11-19 but went down to 4-26 the next season. This year, they are 5-25, prompting Ard's ouster.

Following the continued abysmal performances, the school decided to move forward without Ard. In a statement, Utah State University athletic director Diana Sabau said:

“We appreciate everything Kayla and her staff have contributed to Utah State. However, it is in the best interest of the program to make a change."

The school also announced that their search for a coach is on nationwide. Here are a few of our options.

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Top 5 Utah State head coach candidates

#1 Tammi Reiss

When coach Reiss joined the Rhode Island Rams in 2019, the school's overall wins per season were in single digits.

From an 8-21 overall record in 2018, Reiss turned things around slightly in the first year itself. The Rams wrapped the 2019-20 season with 13-16 before racking up more wins.

The 2022-23 season was their best under Reiss, as they had a 26-7 and became the Atlantic 10 Conference regular season champions.

Tammi Reiss was also named the conference Coach of the Year. With her successful history in rebuilding programs, Reiss seems like a great option for the struggling Aggies.

#2 Adia Barnes

Arizona Wildcats coach Adia Barnes is another great option for rebuilding and bringing in great talent to the Utah State roster.

Under their previous coach Niya Butts, the Wildcats had an overall record of 102–147 over eight seasons, occupying mostly the 11th or 12th positions in Pac-12.

With Barnes's entry in 2016, though, things changed. After a slow start in the first two seasons, Barnes coached Arizona to an overall 24–13 record, and they became the 2019 WNIT champions.

The 2020-21 season has been Barnes' best as the Wildcats played all the way through to the NCAA tournament finals where they lost to Stanford Cardinal.

The former WNBA champion's experience as a player and a coach is what Utah State needs right now.

#3 Tina Langley

Before working with the Washington Huskies, Tina Langley coached the Rice Owls.

From a 9-22 overall record in her first year, she helped the Owls flip those numbers to 22-13 the next season. From then on, the Rice Owls only began to get better as they had an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2019 for the first time since 2005.

Langely's overall record of 165-99 and her history of bringing in quick results make her a good choice for Utah State.

#4 Terri Mitchell

For 18 seasons, the Marquette Golden Eagles explored great heights with Terri Mitchell at the helm.

She's the school's winningest women's basketball coach with a 348–215 overall record. Mitchell led the team to seven NCAA Tournament appearances and one WNIT championship win.

Currently, she works as the associate coach for the Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball team. Terri Mitchell's extensive experience will be extremely valuable to the Aggies for their future endeavors.

#5 Lindsay Woolley

Lindsay Woolley joined Utah for the 2023-24 season. Before that, he spent 11 seasons as coach of Montana Western Bulldogs of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics with an overall record of 215-129.

Woolley was named the NAIA National Coach of the Year in 2019 and led the Bulldogs to six NAIA national tournament appearances, including a National Championship in 2019.

Having someone who has worked with them all this time would make the transition easy for the team.