Georgia Southern's Hana Haden hired as Memphis women's basketball coach

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis has hired Hana Haden from Georgia Southern as the 14th women's basketball coach in program history.

Athletic director Ed Scott announced the hiring Thursday. Haden will be introduced at a news conference on Wednesday.

Haden just earned honors as the 2026 Sun Belt Coach of the Year after taking Georgia Southern to a 23-8 record and the first regular-season title in 25 seasons. That was despite being picked to finish 10th in the preseason poll of the league's coaches.

“Hana has demonstrated a sustained ability to win at every level and lead her teams to postseason success throughout her career," Scott said in a statement.

Haden spent the past two seasons at Georgia Southern and coached senior Kishyah Anderson to a breakout performance as the Sun Belt Player of the Year this season.

“This university represents a city and a state with an incredible passion for basketball, and I look forward to building a championship program that embodies the pride and toughness to reflect that passion," Haden said.

Haden has a record of 224-91 as a head coach over 10 seasons. She also has coached at Division II Georgia Southwestern State and Moberly Area Community College. She played at Western Carolina for two seasons after stops at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Mineral Area College.

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