After playing the 2025-26 season under interim head coach Michele Woods-Baxter, the South Florida Bulls have found a permanent head coach following the hire of Alabama’s Kristy Curry, as per Talia Goodman of On3. Curry had just finished up her 13th season at the helm as Crimson Tide head coach, a season that ended in a heartbreaking, 69-68 round of 32 loss to Louisville.
South Florida had been in the market for a permanent head coach after Jose Fernandez opted to leave the program for the WNBA and the Dallas Wings before the year began. Fernandez had turned the Bulls into one of the better mid-major programs in the country, having made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances in 25 years.
With the Kristy Curry hire, South Florida is hoping their new head coach can help bring the program back to that sort of consistency. The Bulls missed out on the NCAA Tournament this season after finishing with an overall record of 20-12, and 13-5 in the American Athletic Conference. They were third in the American Athletic Conference, but lost in the conference tournament to UTSA.
Curry brings with her a strong record of overall success during her tenure at Alabama. She led the Crimson Tide to a 24-11 record and their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance despite losing both Aaliyah Nye and Sarah Ashlee Barker to the WNBA.
Curry got her start as a head coach at Purdue ahead of the 1999-00 season. She led the Boilermakers to 179-51 overall record. Purdue made the NCAA Tournament in all seven of her seasons, including an appearance in the national championship game in 2000-01. She became the head coach at Texas Tech in 2006-07 where she stayed until taking the Alabama job in 2013-14.
