Tara VanDerveer retires after 38 seasons with Stanford

Tara VanDerveer was hired by Stanford in 1985, she has carried Stanford to three national championships and made 14 final four appearances. She has numerous achievements and plays a huge part in shaping the way women’s basketball is today.

VanDerveer also holds the most wins for men’s and women’s college basketball, with 1,216 wins. VanDerveer has gone on to coach incredible players who would go on to be remarkable in their careers.

#1 Dawn Staley

In the 1996 Olympics, VanDerveer would lead Team USA to win a gold medal. Dawn Staley was a part of this successful team, with 11 other players. Staley got nine points and three assists in the game against Brazil. (That game led Team USA to win the gold medal.) Now Staley is the head basketball coach of the women’s South Carolina and is 1 of 5 head coaches with more than 3 national championships. 

#2 Nneka Ogwumike 

Nneka Ogwumike led Stanford to four consecutive final-four appearances, In 2012 Ogwumike was the #1 pick in the WNBA draft, she would also go on to win Rookie of the Year and in 2021 Ogwumike was honored as one of the league's 25 Greatest players.

There are a handful more players that VanDerveer would shape into great players and help them in their careers. VanDerveer's last day is May 8th, her 39th anniversary from when she started coaching at Stanford. Other coaches acknowledge her success in the game.

UConn's head coach. Geno Auriemma said 

“When you’ve coached for this extended period of time and you’ve accomplished what Tara’s accomplished, it has an incredible effect on the basketball community,”

VanDerveer will leave a lasting impression on the game.