USCB Athletics

Sharon Versyp enters her third season as Head Coach of USCB Women’s Basketball in 2025–26.

In just two seasons at the helm, Versyp has laid a strong foundation for the Sand Shark program as it transitioned into NCAA Division II and Peach Belt Conference play. During her first season in the navy and sand, Versyp led the Sand Sharks to a 9–17 overall record with a 5–13 mark in the Peach Belt. USCB picked up its first win in program history on Opening Night against Morris College, defeating the Hornets 70–47. Freshman Janiyah Heyward earned PBC Freshman of the Year honors during the team's inaugural season.

Leading Purdue to four Big Ten Tournament championships and two NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearances in 15 years, the USCB women’s basketball team made a big splash on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022, by hiring a Boilermaker legend in Versyp, who is Purdue’s all-time winningest head coach.
Coming out of retirement (retired from Purdue on Sept. 16, 2021), Versyp is the winningest coach in program history, with 301 victories on the Boilermakers' sidelines—good for 20 per year—and her 20-year career record as a head coach stands at 418–257. She added the Boilermakers’ career Big Ten victories record to her list of accolades in 2018–19, collecting 136 at Purdue, and her 149 career Big Ten wins rank fifth-most in conference history.

The Boilermakers secured an NCAA Tournament bid in nine of 15 seasons under Versyp, advancing to the Elite Eight twice and to the second round on six other occasions. In 2007, the Boilermakers earned the No. 2 seed in the Dallas Region, dispatching No. 15 seed Oral Roberts, seventh-seeded Georgia Tech, and No. 3 seed Georgia before falling in the national quarterfinals. The 2009 NCAA Tournament run came as a No. 6 seed in the Oklahoma City Region, as Purdue topped 11th-seeded Charlotte, upset No. 3 seed North Carolina and moved past seventh-seeded Rutgers before suffering a six-point loss in the regional final. In addition to their Elite Eight seedings, the Boilermakers have been a No. 9 seed three times, a No. 4 seed three times, and an 11-seed once in their seven other appearances. Purdue was on pace to receive an at-large bid to the 2020 NCAA Tournament before the event's cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purdue's four Big Ten Tournament titles under Versyp came in impressive and dramatic fashion, garnering a 23–11 record at the event in 15 appearances. The Boilermakers earned the 2007 and 2008 tournament titles, followed up with the 2012 and 2013 titles, and are one of just three teams in the conference to ever win consecutive tournament championships. Katie Gearlds, current Purdue head coach, led a second-seeded Boilermaker squad to the 2007 title, while the Boilermakers secured a necessary automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Tournament with an outstanding postseason run, capped by a buzzer-beating game-winner from Lakisha Freeman to edge Illinois in the championship. The Boilermakers took the 2012 conference tournament as a No. 4 seed, knocking off top-seeded Penn State in the semifinals before winning a 74–70, double-overtime thriller over Big Ten newcomer Nebraska in the finals. The 2013 championship run was a dominant one, as Versyp's third-seeded squad won by an average of 13.3 points per game, including a 62–47 victory over Michigan State in the finals. Drey Mingo was named the tournament's most outstanding player. The Boilermakers' nine Big Ten Tournament titles are a conference-best in the tournament's 27-year history. Purdue has been to the Big Ten title game in 14 of 27 tournaments, including six under Versyp, and the Boilermaker head coach owns the career record for Big Ten Tournament victories with 25 wins.

Versyp guided 41 All-Big Ten selections at Purdue, including six first-team selections, and four Boilermakers were recognized with All-America honors. Gearlds was a Third Team All-America pick in 2007, while Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton received honorable mention recognition the same year, and Mingo was also an honorable mention All-America in 2013. Purdue also saw five members of the conference All-Freshman Team, nine Big Ten All-Defensive Team members, and a pair of Big Ten Sixth Players of the Year under Versyp, in addition to four Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Players and 16 All-Tournament Team members. Most recently, Ae’Rianna Harris became the third sophomore in conference history to earn Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors—and the youngest Boilermaker ever—while Karissa McLaughlin was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Three Boilermakers were selected in the WNBA Draft during Versyp's tenure: Gearlds was picked seventh by the Seattle Storm in 2007, Wisdom-Hylton was selected 13th by the Los Angeles Sparks, and Danielle Campbell was picked 32nd by the Indiana Fever in 2009.

Versyp's impact on basketball in the Hoosier State was recognized on April 24, 2010, when she was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility—an honor that includes names like Larry Bird and John Wooden. On June 22, 2013, Versyp was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame for her tenure as the head coach at Maine as well as her continued success. In addition to being named the America East Conference Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2005, Versyp was named the 2007 WBCA Region VI Coach of the Year and was most recently honored as the 2014 ESPNW Big Ten Coach of the Year.

Versyp was the head coach at Indiana prior to Purdue, where she led her team to a 19–14 season, 9–7 in the Big Ten, and the quarterfinals of the postseason WNIT. The nine-game improvement was the second-largest turnaround in school history for a first-year head coach. While at Indiana, Versyp guided senior Cindi Valentin to First Team All-Big Ten honors and newcomer Whitney Thomas to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

Prior to her stint with the Hoosiers, Versyp was the head coach at Maine for five seasons, where she amassed a 98–51 record, including a 67–19 America East Conference mark. Versyp's teams won three straight America East regular season championships (2003, 2004, 2005) and, in 2004, also won the America East Tournament title, earning an NCAA Tournament berth. Versyp was twice voted America East Coach of the Year (2003 and 2005). Her teams achieved season records of 25–6 in 2002–03 and 25–7 in 2003–04—the first back-to-back 25-win campaigns in school history.

Under Versyp's guidance, Maine student-athletes earned America East Player, Rookie, and Defensive Player of the Year honors and garnered 15 All-Conference selections during her five years with the Black Bears. Versyp coached 2003 and 2004 America East Player of the Year Heather Ernest, who went on to play professionally overseas. While at Maine, Versyp's team ranked 13th in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association National Team Academic Honor Roll.

After graduating from Purdue, Versyp began her coaching career in the high school ranks at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis from 1989–93. There, she took a 0–18 team to a sectional runner-up finish in just two seasons. She also served as the head coach at Benton Central High School in Oxford, Ind., from 1993 to 1996.

Versyp entered the collegiate ranks in 1996–97, joining Bud Childers' staff at the University of Louisville. After going 20–9, sharing the Conference USA regular-season title, and earning an NCAA berth, Childers left for James Madison University. Versyp followed him to Harrisonburg, Va., serving as his top assistant and recruiting coordinator. She was there for three seasons and, in 1999, helped sign a recruiting class ranked nationally in the top 25.


YEAR-BY-YEAR RESULTS