West Virginia’s women’s basketball program has selected its next head coach.
Dawn Plitzuweit, who leaves behind a successful six-season stint at South Dakota, was chosen Thursday to lead the Mountaineers.
A formal introduction is expected next week.
“Dawn is a proven winner everywhere she has been, and her track record for sustained success is impressive,” West Virginia University Director of Athletics and Associate Vice President Shane Lyons said. “When we started our search, it was quite obvious that her reputation as a program builder and championship coach put her at the top of our list.”
Plitzuweit spent the last six seasons as head coach at South Dakota, where she enjoyed a wealth of success and helped the Coyotes qualify for four consecutive NCAA Tournament berths to close her tenure.
South Dakota finished 29-6 and reached the Sweet 16 this season as a No. 10 seed, beating Ole Miss and Baylor before bowing out against Michigan. It marked the program’s first win in the NCAA Tournament.
The Coyotes were Summit League champions each of the last three seasons, during which time they finished 78-14.
In 2019-2020, South Dakota was 30-2 and unbeaten in league play before the NCAA Tournament was canceled as the season came to an abrupt end due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Plitzuweit became the fastest Summit League coach to record 100 victories, needing only 124 games to do so. She was the conference coach of the year three straight seasons from 2018-2020.
Plitzuweit replaces Mike Carey, the all-time winningest coach at West Virginia with 447 victories over 21 seasons. Carey, 63, retired earlier this month having led the Mountaineers to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances.
Before taking over at South Dakota, Plitzuweit was head coach at Northern Kentucky for four seasons, where she finished 71-54. That followed five seasons as an assistant at Michigan — a position Plitzuweit took after her first head coaching stint at Grand Valley State, which included a Division II National Championship in 2006.
Plitzuweit began her coaching career as an assistant at her alma mater Michigan Tech, where she enjoyed a successful playing career from 1990-1995.
She later on went on be an assistant at Green Bay before becoming Grand Valley State’s head coach in 2002.
A native of West Bend, Wisconsin, Plitzuweit has a son A.J. on the South Dakota men’s team. He was named Summit League Newcomer of the Year as well as a first-team all-conference selection in 2020-2021, before missing all of the most recent season with a knee injury.
Over 15 seasons as a head coach, Plitzuweit has a 346-128 record.
“I am so incredibly excited and humbled to be your women’s basketball coach at West Virginia University,” Plitzuweit said. “Thank you to President Gordon Gee, Shane Lyons, Keli Zinn and Matt Wells for this great opportunity, their confidence in me and for their tremendous support of our program. Also, a very special thank you to Coach Mike Carey and the tremendous foundation which he built and congratulations on his retirement. I am absolutely thrilled to lead our Mountaineer program at the Flagship Institution in West Virginia.
“I would also be remiss if I didn’t thank our players, administration and all of Coyote Nation at the University of South Dakota for everything they have done for me, my family and for our program. I will miss you all so much and hope that we can recruit you to cheer for the Mountaineers now.
“I just cannot wait to get to Morgantown to meet with our team and to connect with them. Our mission will be to assist our young ladies in their development on the court, while also helping them become more confident young women off the court as well. I am so excited to grow our program within the Morgantown community and the entire Mountain State! Let’s Go!”