Virginia women’s basketball hires former Florida head coach as associate head coach

GREENVILLE, SC - MARCH 06: Florida Gators head coach Kelly Rae Finley during the SEC women's college basketball tournament between the Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide on March 6, 2025 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Two weeks after taking over as head coach of the Virginia women’s basketball program, Aaron Roussell has made his most significant hire yet, officially naming former Florida head coach Kelly Rae Finley as associate head coach on Monday.

Finley took over Florida’s program as interim coach in 2021 before being hired permanently in February of 2022. After going 93-75 overall and 30-50 in SEC play and missing out on the NCAA Tournament the past four years, Finley was fired by Florida with one year remaining on her contract. Less than two months after being let go following an 18-15 season, including 5-11 in the SEC, Virginia’s new head coach has brought Finley in to join his staff.

Despite limited on-court success during her tenure, including only one NCAA Tournament appearance, which came during her year as interim coach, Finley does bring some notable recruiting chops to Charlottesville. Most notably, she secured a top-10 recruiting class in 2024, according to ESPN, including five-star and No. 15 overall recruit Alivia McGill, the team’s leading scorer and assister the past two seasons.

Finley was previously an assistant coach and associate head coach at Florida before being hired as head coach. Before that, she spent time as an assistant at Harvard, Colorado, and Arizona. During her time at Colorado, she helped recruit a top-25 recruiting class.

In Virginia’s announcement of Finley’s hiring, Roussell had this to say about his associate head coach hire: “Kelly is someone I’ve admired for a long time. She has exceptional integrity and is genuine in how she goes about her relationships…She’s a superstar recruiter with a relentless work ethic. Our relationship predates either one of us being in this business and she’s always been someone I’ve leaned on for guidance.”