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For more than two decades, Rick Insell has been a fixture in women’s college basketball.
By dominating the Sun Belt and then Conference USA, and orchestrating a few NCAA Tournament upsets, he transformed the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders into one of the sport’s signature mid-major powers.
And now, he’s handing over the reins of the program to his son.
Middle Tennessee State announced on Thursday morning that Insell is retiring after 21 seasons at the helm of the program. He’ll guide the Blue Raiders through their WNIT run — which begins Sunday — and then step aside for his son Matt to take over.
“I am honored to have led the Middle Tennessee women's basketball program for over two decades,” Rick Insell said in a statement. “From our first season together to our 20th consecutive postseason appearance, it has been an incredible journey. I am thankful to our administration, our athletic staff, and the countless assistant coaches who have contributed to the sustained success of this program.”
Matt Insell, 43, has been an assistant coach under his father since 2018 and has been the associate head coach at MTSU since 2022. He was previously the head coach at Ole Miss from 2013 to 2018 where he went 70-87 in five seasons. Matt also worked under Matthew Mitchell at Kentucky and Chris Long at Louisiana Tech.
A formal press conference introducing Matt Insell as head coach will be held on March 24.
Rick Insell — who was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017 — will leave his post at MTSU with more than 500 career wins and 12 trips to the NCAA Tournament. Before he returned to his alma mater, Insell, a 1977 MTSU graduate, was the coach at Shelbyville Central High School where he won 775 games and 10 state championships.
Insell’s MTSU teams twice advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, most recently doing so in 2024 after the Blue Raiders upset Louisville in the first round behind the play of Savannah Wheeler and Jalynn Gregory. In addition to 12 trips to the Big Dance, the Blue Raiders went to the WNIT seven times and the WBIT once — making a postseason appearance in nearly every year Insell led the program.
The Blue Raiders captured 10 conference tournament titles under his watch and the program produced five WNBA Draft picks. Arguably the most successful of that group has been Alysha Clark, a two-time All-American and two-time NCAA scoring leader for Insell who has gone on to win three WNBA championships.
"Coach Insell's extraordinary success on the court is matched only by the relationships he has built and the lives he has influenced along the way," MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee said in a statement. "On a personal level, I am grateful to call Rick a longtime friend and, on behalf of the university, I thank him for his remarkable contributions and enduring legacy."
Insell's retirement marks the 27th coaching change in Division I women's college basketball this season. He is the second coach with more than 500 wins to retire this year, following Quinnipiac's Tricia Fabbri.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hall of Fame coach Rick Insell retires from MTSU women's basketball
Continue reading...
By dominating the Sun Belt and then Conference USA, and orchestrating a few NCAA Tournament upsets, he transformed the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders into one of the sport’s signature mid-major powers.
And now, he’s handing over the reins of the program to his son.
Middle Tennessee State announced on Thursday morning that Insell is retiring after 21 seasons at the helm of the program. He’ll guide the Blue Raiders through their WNIT run — which begins Sunday — and then step aside for his son Matt to take over.
“I am honored to have led the Middle Tennessee women's basketball program for over two decades,” Rick Insell said in a statement. “From our first season together to our 20th consecutive postseason appearance, it has been an incredible journey. I am thankful to our administration, our athletic staff, and the countless assistant coaches who have contributed to the sustained success of this program.”
Matt Insell, 43, has been an assistant coach under his father since 2018 and has been the associate head coach at MTSU since 2022. He was previously the head coach at Ole Miss from 2013 to 2018 where he went 70-87 in five seasons. Matt also worked under Matthew Mitchell at Kentucky and Chris Long at Louisiana Tech.
A formal press conference introducing Matt Insell as head coach will be held on March 24.
Rick Insell — who was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017 — will leave his post at MTSU with more than 500 career wins and 12 trips to the NCAA Tournament. Before he returned to his alma mater, Insell, a 1977 MTSU graduate, was the coach at Shelbyville Central High School where he won 775 games and 10 state championships.
Insell’s MTSU teams twice advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, most recently doing so in 2024 after the Blue Raiders upset Louisville in the first round behind the play of Savannah Wheeler and Jalynn Gregory. In addition to 12 trips to the Big Dance, the Blue Raiders went to the WNIT seven times and the WBIT once — making a postseason appearance in nearly every year Insell led the program.
The Blue Raiders captured 10 conference tournament titles under his watch and the program produced five WNBA Draft picks. Arguably the most successful of that group has been Alysha Clark, a two-time All-American and two-time NCAA scoring leader for Insell who has gone on to win three WNBA championships.
"Coach Insell's extraordinary success on the court is matched only by the relationships he has built and the lives he has influenced along the way," MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee said in a statement. "On a personal level, I am grateful to call Rick a longtime friend and, on behalf of the university, I thank him for his remarkable contributions and enduring legacy."
Insell's retirement marks the 27th coaching change in Division I women's college basketball this season. He is the second coach with more than 500 wins to retire this year, following Quinnipiac's Tricia Fabbri.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hall of Fame coach Rick Insell retires from MTSU women's basketball
Continue reading...
