We'll also get to know the coaching staff . . . first up is Head Coach Kelly Rae Finley . . . Coach Finley will take the court leading the Gators in the 2023-24 season after making a historic run in the WNIT this past spring. The team reached the quarterfinals of the competitive post-season tournament before falling to the tournament's runner-up. Finley has also exercised her elite recruiting abilities, landing McDonald's All-American Laila Reynolds who has joined the 2023-24 roster. Since being named head coach in February of 2022, Kelly Rae has taken Florida to two postseason tournaments and has totaled 20 wins for the Gators. Finley is looking for another successful season and has already welcomed three new transfers to the 2023-24 team. Finley’s first year as Head Coach was highlighted by her being named the Spalding Maggie Dixon Rookie Coach of the Year by the WBCA. Finley was also honored as USA Today Sports Network SEC Coach of the Year and a semifinalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year award. These recognitions came after she led the Gators to a historic 2021-22 campaign where the team went 21-11, the first 20-win season since 2015-16, while also earning an at-large bid for the first time in over five years. Under her leadership in the 2021-22 season, the Gators defeated five ranked opponents for the first time since the 2005-06 season, including five nationally ranked opponents in the SEC for the first time since 2004. Finley also played a role in the development of All-SEC guard and Connecticut Sun draftee, Kiara Smith. 2017 was Kelly Rae’s first year at Florida where she served as Assistant Coach for two seasons (2017-2019) before being promoted to Associate Head Coach in May of 2019, and ultimately filling the role as Interim Head Coach (July 2021). During this time Finley specialized in the development of guard players and significantly contributed to recruiting efforts. In 2020-21, Finley helped the Gators secure their first postseason victory since 2014 as Florida defeated Charlotte in the opening round of the WNIT and during her Interim year, she guided the Gators to a 78-68 win at Ole Miss, their first win in Oxford since 2016. Under Finley’s watch, several of Florida’s guards made tremendous strides including point guard Kiki Smith, who became the first player in program history to lead her team in scoring (490), rebounding (173), and assists (95) in a single season. Finley’s efforts helped the Gators improve their season averages in scoring, scoring margin, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free throw percentage, rebounds, and turnovers per game when comparing 2020-21 to 2019-20. Prior to coming to Gainesville, Coach Finley served as the assistant coach at Arizona, specializing in recruitment where she signed the 34th-ranked recruiting class in the country that included the Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year (2017), the Washington 4A State Player of the Year (2017) and the Illinois Courier News Player of the year (2017). Finley also spent four years at the University of Colorado, signing the top 25 recruiting class helping her rank as high as No. 11 in the Associated Press poll and No. 14 in the USA Today Sports Coaches poll (2013-2014). Finley’s first stop in collegiate basketball was at Harvard where she spent three years as an assistant coach and heavily impacted the recruiting scene. Finley was a major role in signing Ivy League's first-ever McDonald’s All-American and Ivy League Women’s second Basketball Olympian. At Harvard, Coach Kelly was assigned the role of director of post-player development leading to 12 All-Ivy selections, five of whom continued their careers in professional basketball. Her guidance at Harvard resulted in three postseason appearances (WNIT, 2010, 2011, 2012) and hyperactive fundraising efforts for locker room and equipment upgrades. Finley graduated from Colorado State University in 2008 with her bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies. She was a two-year letter winner for the Rams and was a Mountain West Conference Scholar-Athlete Award winner in 2008. Finley began her collegiate career at Northwestern University where she lettered in 2004-05. Quoting Kelly Rae Finley: "I am committed to our student-athletes and will continue to do all I can to help them become the best they can be on and off the court. I'm grateful to be entrusted with this role and will bring my best every day to help us be successful together as a team." “The University of Florida is an elite athletic and academic institution where we have the opportunity to compete for and win championships. That’s everything you want when you look for a program to build and be a part of.” Source: Kelly Rae Finley - Women's Basketball Coach - Florida Gators
