ORLANDO (UCFKnights.com) –Following the best season in program history, UCF head women’s basketball coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson has signed a two-year extension that keeps her at the helm through the 2024-25 campaign.
“Coach “ABE,” as we all know her, quite obviously has taken this program to new heights,” UCF Vice President and Director of Athletics Danny White said. “In three short years she has established UCF as a force to be reckoned with in the American Athletic Conference—and an NCAA invitation in 2019 suggests her team is in the process of making an even bigger splash. We are intrigued to see what the next steps are for her program—on the court, in the classroom and in the community--and we’re excited that Katie will be leading us toward those milestones for many years to come.”
In each of her three seasons guiding the Knights, UCF has continued to improve on the court. The Black and Gold set a program record for wins in 2018-19, finishing with a 26-7 overall mark and earned the program’s first at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. A 13-3 mark in the American Athletic Conference gave UCF its best seed in The American tournament, where the Knights made their first appearance in the championship game.
"I am blessed and thrilled for the confidence that Danny White, Brandi Stuart and President Seymour have in me and my staff," Coach “ABE” said. "In our three seasons, we have enjoyed success both on the court and in the classroom that would not be possible without their support. We’ve been able to accomplish many milestones in these three years, including our second-place finish in conference with a record of 26-7 and our NCAA Tournament appearance this spring. We are looking forward to continuing to build on this success as we move forward."
Coach “ABE” has led UCF to the postseason in all three years – beginning with back-to-back WNIT bids and a berth in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Since taking over, she has guided UCF to three-consecutive 20-win campaigns for the first time in the program’s Division I era. In December, she became the fastest UCF head coach to reach 50 Division I wins and currently ranks fourth among the Knights’ all-time coaches with a 69-30 record.
In the classroom, the Knights have also improved, achieving at least a 3.0 average team GPA each of the last four semesters.
Headlining the returners for the 2019-20 campaign is rising senior Kay Kay Wright. A first team all-conference selection and invitee to the 2019 U.S. Pan American Games team trials, Wright led UCF in scoring, steals and assists last season. Diamond Battles, Masseny Kaba, Sianni Martin and Brittney Smith join Wright among the returnees, while Jaylen Williams will be eligible after sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules.