West Virginia women’s basketball program is in the mix for new leadership.
Sources confirmed Wednesday to MetroNews that longtime head coach Mike Carey has stepped down and will retire.
Carey, 63, has guided the WVU women since 2001, leading the Mountaineers to a 447-239 record over 21 seasons.
“I want to thank all my current and former players and staff for 21 great years at West Virginia University. This has been a lot of fun, and I am certainly proud of what we were able to build and accomplish,” Carey said. “I also want to thank the state of West Virginia and our incredible fans. The support and loyalty throughout my tenure at WVU, through both highs and lows, makes me proud to be from this state. I look forward to being WVU women’s basketball’s biggest fan, alongside the fans who supported me all these years. It has been a privilege to lead this program, but I believe this is the right time in my life to turn the program over to someone else.
“I have had a wonderful career coaching at the high school, Division II and Power 5 levels, but I want to now take some time for myself and family, to sit back, breathe and enjoy what has been a long and fun career. However, I am most excited to spend time with my family. I have five grandkids that are growing up so fast, and I look forward to spending much more time with them.”
Under Carey’s watch, the Mountaineers qualified for the NCAA Tournament 11 times, though they never advanced beyond the second round.
The Mountaineers produced 14 seasons of at least 21 wins in Carey’s tenure, including a school-record 30 victories in the 2013-2014 campaign.
“I want to thank Mike for 21 years of dedication to this University. He was willing to take over our program at a difficult time in its history and made it nationally competitive,” Director of Athletics Shane Lyons said. “Mike and I have had several discussions prior to this season about continuing to lead our program in the future, and each time he wanted to wait and be patient to make sure that was what he wanted to do, so I know he has been thinking about this for quite some time.
“He has been coaching for almost 40 years, and his decision comes down to wanting to spend time with his family and enjoying life away from the rigors of coaching major college basketball. I am appreciative of his work and want nothing but the best for him. He has raised the bar for our women’s basketball program, and I am excited for him and the future of our team.”
Carey also helped lead West Virginia to a 2017 Big 12 Conference Tournament Championship, but the Mountaineers have played in only one NCAA Tournament since.
Plagued by injuries throughout this season, the Mountaineers finished 15-15, but managed to qualify for the WNIT. However, on Monday, West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons announced WVU would not participate in the postseason event.
“While we appreciate the invitation for our women’s basketball team to participate in the 2022 WNIT, we have made the difficult decision to decline the invite this year,” Lyons said. “Team injuries, along with student-athletes set to enter the transfer portal, have limited our roster availability, and we would not be able to provide a competitive or positive experience for our student-athletes.”
West Virginia qualified for the NCAA Tournament or NIT in each of Carey’s last 16 seasons at the school, though there was no postseason in 2020 when the Mountaineers finished 17-12 before the start of the pandemic.
Carey had one season remaining on a contract he signed in 2016.
A Clarksburg native, Carey spent 13 years as head coach of the men’s basketball program at Salem University before his arrival in Morgantown. He compiled a 288-102 record with the Tigers.
Carey’s son, Craig Carey, was one of the Mountaineers’ three assistant coaches this season.