Caroline McCombs - Women's Basketball Coach - George Washington University Athletics

Caroline McCombs

Title:
Head Coach

Head coach Caroline McCombs enters her fourth season at the helm of GW women’s basketball in 2024. During the 2023-24 season, McCombs helped guide GW to a 13-18 overall record, falling to Saint Louis in the second round of the Atlantic 10 Championship. McCombs' leadership also helped produce historic numbers for Mayowa Taiwo, who finished with 1,037 career rebounds, the third-most in program history for a single player. Taiwo was also named to the Atlantic 10's Preseason All-Conference All-Defensive Team, while sophomore guard Nya Robertson was named to the league's All-Conference Third Team. McCombs' first two seasons with the Buff and Blue resulted in a run to the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship. During her first year in Foggy Bottom, McCombs helped lead a team that ranked first in program history in points allowed in a season (55.2) and upset #5 La Salle to reach the Quarterfinals of the 2022 A-10 Women’s Basketball Championship. 2022-23 then saw the Buff and Blue with McCombs at the helm earn the 7-seed in the tournament to notch a first-round bye, and then knock off the 10-seed before narrowly falling in the quarters to the second seed. McCombs' first two seasons in Foggy Bottom portend a return to prominence in the A-10 and in the nation's rankings for the program with a rich history of winning Championships. Her team set an all-time school record for made three-pointers in a single season in 2022-23 and saw three players decorated with All-Conference honors, including first-year Nya Robertson, a former top-50 recruit, who was named the league's Sixth Woman of the Year. The good times continued to roll in the offseason when a quartet of seniors agreed to return for a fifth season at GW, while McCombs also landed the commitment of a pair of highly-coveted graduate transfers. A proven winner at every stop during her coaching career, McCombs arrived at GW after seven years as the head coach at Stony Brook where she led the Seawolves to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021. The 2020 America East Coach of the Year, McCombs won 130 games in seven years at Stony Brook. In 2021, she led the Seawolves to a 15-6 mark, winning the America East Tournament Championship and earning a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament. McCombs had the Seawolves on the precipice of an NCAA Tournament berth in 2020, winning the program’s first-ever America East regular season championship and advancing to the America East Championship game with a 28-3 record before the remainder of the season was canceled due to COVID-19. The Seawolves won 22 consecutive games in 2019-20, garnering votes in the national polls for the first time in program history. McCombs left Stony Brook as the program’s winningest Division I coach and second-winningest overall, having coached 19 all-conference selections. Prior to becoming a head coach, McCombs gained a wealth of experience as an assistant coach for 15 years at the Division I level. She assisted four different programs and appeared in five NCAA tournaments, including two Sweet 16 appearances. She has also developed a pair of AP All-Americans and three WNBA players. Before her time at Stony Brook, McCombs spent two years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Auburn, assisting the Tigers to a pair of WNIT berths. She was influential in signing a recruiting class that ranked 16th nationally in 2012. McCombs came to Auburn from Northwestern where she was an assistant under former GW head coach and Hall of Famer Joe McKeown from 2010-12. Under her tutelage, Amy Jaeschke was an AP All-American and made history as the program’s first WNBA draft pick. McCombs helped lead the team to a WNIT berth in her first season and assisted in bringing in a top-25 recruiting class. Prior to Northwestern, McCombs spent five seasons as an assistant at Pittsburgh from 2005-10, aiding the program to five straight postseason appearances that included three NCAA Tournaments and a pair of Sweet 16 berths. With the Panthers, she coached Shavonte Zellous, who earned All-America honors and was a 2009 WNBA Draft pick. McCombs started her coaching career as an assistant coach at Valparaiso in 1999, holding the title for five years before being elevated to associate head coach in 2004-05. The Crusaders won two conference championships and advanced to consecutive NCAA Tournaments under her watch. She also coached Marlous Nieuwveen, who became the first player in school and conference history to reach the WNBA. A native of Medina, Ohio, McCombs was an all-conference performer for Youngstown State, where she graduated in 1998 with a degree in dietetics. McCombs was a two-time Mid-Continent Conference Second Team selection in 1996-97 and 1997-98 and played in two NCAA tournaments, including with the 1998 team that pulled off a first-round upset as a #12 seed.