On Jan. 21, 2024, Stanford Women’s Basketball head coach, Tara VanDerveer, became the winningest coach in College Basketball history. The Stanford Cardinals achieved a 65-56 conference win against Oregon State. This win marked VanDerveer as having the most wins as a collegiate head coach, passing Duke University’s Mike Krzyzewski.
VanDerveer has been Stanford’s Women’s Basketball head coach since 1985. Since the beginning of her career at Stanford, VanDerveer has achieved an overall record of 1,051-216 and led the Cardinals to 3 National Titles. Solidifying her success, VanDerveer has collected various accolades during her career with Stanford. She was named as a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee in 2011, as well as a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. (Stanford Athletics)
VanDerveer and her athletes are described as having a “connection” with each other, helping to explain their overall success as a unit.
After their historic win against Oregon State, Kiki Iriafen, a Junior Forward, said this in regards to VanDerveer’s historic achievement “I’m super honored to be here, super honored to play for her and super happy we got the W for Tara.”
When interviewed after the game, rather than mentioning her own achievement, VanDerveer shouted out the success of her players saying “I just love how our team battled.”
Tara VenDerveer and Stanford Cardinals have a 19-2 record on the season, and have their sights out for another National Title.