Kellie Rae Finley. They Call Her 'Interim' Women's Basketball Coach. But Maybe Not For Much Longer.
She has won five straight SEC games, three against ranked team. (Photo by Chris Spears)
It has been since 1998 that the Gators have reached a Sweet 16. Florida’s Scott Stricklin has indicated he doesn’t want to make an official decision on who the new permanent head coach will be until the season is over.
By KYLE CURTIS
GatorBait Intern
Kelly Rae Finley is the interim head basketball coach at The University of Florida. But maybe not for long. Taking over a women’s program that has been through some hardships after the departure of previous coach, Cam Newbauer, in July her goal was to get her team back on the court and focus on success.
That is just what she has done. Coming off back-to-back wins vs. ranked team in the same week she was able to capture ESPN’s coach of the week honors – unheard of from an interim coach in her first full season. She has her team in a position to make a run for the national tournament for the first time since 2016.
Finley’s coaching career began at Harvard, where she was an assistant coach from 2008 to 2012. From there, she then had stints at Arizona and Colorado until finally winding up at Florida.
While at Harvard, Finley had three postseason appearances in the WNIT from 2010 to 2012. One of her titles at Harvard was head recruiting coordinator, where she was able to recruit the Ivy League’s first-ever McDonald’s All-American in Temitope Fagbenle. She had similar roles at Colorado, where she assisted the Buffalo in gaining a top 25 recruiting class.
Finley originally got to Gainesville and assumed the role of specializing in guard development as an assistant coach. Before becoming the interim head coach, she was able to get some head coaching experience under her belt whenever she had to step in last season, as Newbauer had to miss time due to health and safety protocols.
Under Finley’s rein she has secured Florida’s first season above .500 since 2016-2017. Senior guard, Kiki Smith is averaging nearly 19 points per game and putting up a case for all-SEC honors at the end of the season. The Gators look to take the momentum they’ve gained behind their new leader into the conference tournament and hopefully, the NCAA Women’s Tournament come April.
It has been since 1998 that the Gators have reached a Sweet 16. Florida’s Scott Stricklin has indicated he doesn’t want to make an official decision on who the new permanent head coach will be until the season is over. Nonetheless, Finley has made her strong case and has her team playing hard behind her, boasting a 15-5 record along with five straight SEC wins, three against ranked opponents. With these women playing their best basketball in recent years, it will be hard to not consider Finley for the job once the season concludes.
Finley has taken the reins of a team that has been through so much together and overcome even more and has helped produce a winning attitude on the floor.
Kelly Rae has a stronger resume and case for becoming the head coach than likely anyone else Stricklin could hire. She knows her players, has been deft at substitutions and getting the best out of her bench. Individuals including Kiki Smith and Zippy Broughton have elevated their performances under her leadership and there’s evidence that Finley recruits well. After all these years, ironically our best candidate to lead the women’s program forward has kind of fallen into our collective lap, as the saying goes.