The University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball team announced March 25 the appointment of Robin Pingeton as the new head coach of the program.
Pingeton, who led the Missouri Tigers to a 250-218 overall record over 15 years, including four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances from 2016-2019, announced that she would be stepping down from the program at the end of the season Feb. 26.
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“I am excited to get to Madison and get to work,” Pingeton said in a statement. “Relationships are very important to me. I appreciate the time I spent with Chris McIntosh and Marcus Sedberry and I can tell my value system aligns with the people at Wisconsin. I learned a lot in almost 15 years in the Southeastern Conference and I am ready to apply that in Madison while also evolving with the changing landscape in college athletics. There is a rich tradition of athletics success at Wisconsin and I can’t wait to get started!”
Pingeton replaced former head coach Marisa Mosely, who resigned at the end of last season after going 47-75 across four seasons.
Prior to joining Missouri, Pingeton led Illinois State to two NCAA tournament appearances, two Mountain Valley Conference tournament and two regular season championships.
The Wisconsin women’s basketball program has been very active in the transfer portal following a disappointing 13-17 overall record and 4-14 in the Big Ten.
Star junior Serah Williams, who led the Badgers in points, rebounds and blocks last season, announced via social media that she would enter the portal on March 12.
The First-Team All-Big Ten and All-Defensive Team forward barely missed out on the top-10 all-time career points, finishing 11th by scoring 1,494 during her three years as a Badger. She also finished second in career blocks with 211 and in career double-doubles with 38.
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Sophomore Carter McCray also announced her departure from the program via social media on March 12. McCray, a transfer from Northern Kentucky, only spent one season in Madison, averaging 10.6 points and 7.1 rebounds on 56.7% shooting from the field.
Junior Ronnie Porter was the final starter from last season to announce her entry to the transfer portal via social media March 25, ending her three-year stint in Madison. Porter enjoyed her best season during her sophomore year, averaging 10.6 points and 5.5 rebounds. This season, she led the team in assists and steals, racking up her second double-double in a February matchup with Penn State.
Following the graduations of Natalie Leuzinger, Halle Douglass and Tess Myers, and the transfers of Williams, McCray and Porter, the Badgers lost about 1,700 of their 1,800 of their total points from last season. Replacing these six stars now falls on Pingeton, who needs to find talent quickly to lead the Badgers to their first winning season since 2010-11 and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2009-10.