Sources: USC extends Gottlieb through 2030
University of Southern California women's basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb -- responsible for rapidly restoring the Trojans into a national powerhouse -- has agreed on a contract extension that'll take her through 2030, sources told ESPN on Friday.
Gottlieb's new deal comes with the Trojans on the cusp of competing for national championships with first-team All-American freshman JuJu Watkins -- the nation's best returning player -- and ESPN's No. 1-rated recruiting class arriving in the fall.
Gottlieb's recruitment and deployment of Watkins has been met with sold-out Galen Center crowds, national television ratings and an electric environment around the program in the Greater Los Angeles area. Watkins -- a prep icon at nearby Sierra Canyon -- has starred in national advertising campaigns with LeBron James and Joel Embiid and has become a magnet to recruit the best high school and portal players to USC.
In Gottlieb's third season after arriving to a program in disrepair, the Trojans (29-6) advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament and won the final Pac-12 Conference championship. Gottlieb returned the Trojans to the NCAAs in her second season on the job, boasting a 21-10 record.
Two USC seniors -- McKenzie Forbes and Kaitlyn Davis -- were selected in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Gottlieb was lured to USC from a two-year tenure as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where she quickly earned the respect and trust of staff and players in the NBA.
Previously, Gottlieb built a perennial NCAA tournament team in her eight seasons at the University of California, including a trip to the Final Four in 2013. She advanced to the NCAA tournament seven times in those eight seasons, winning tournament games in six of those seven years.
Gottlieb led UCSB to the NCAA and WNIT tournaments in three seasons before Cal hired her away in 2011. She coached several of her stars, including New York's Layshia Clarendon and Los Angeles' Kristine Anigwe, to the WNBA.
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7 of May 2024
