University of Arizona Athletics

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2021 WBCA Coach of the Year Finalist
2021 Naismith Coach of the Year Semifinalist
2021 AmeriCup Gold Medalist
One of four coaches to lead their alma mater to the title game
One of 11 coaches to play and coach in the NCAA Tournament at their alma mater
The first coach since 2016 to make the Final Four in their first five seasons as a head coach
The youngest coach since 2014 to make the Final Four
Second-winningest coach in school history
Second-most 20-win seasons in school history
First coach in program history to win 20 or more games in five consecutive seasons
2021 USA AmeriCup Assistant Coach
 
Since returning to her alma mater as head coach in April of 2016, Adia Barnes has built Arizona Women’s Basketball into a fixture on the national stage of college basketball while developing her own legacy as one of the top coaches in the sport. The program has ascended to dizzying heights in record-breaking fashion in all aspects that include reaching the national championship game, signing elite recruiting classes, cementing its deep connections with the Tucson community.

The 2024-25 season marked Arizona’s inaugural year in the Big 12 Conference, where the Wildcats finished 10-8 in league play and 19-14 overall. The 19 wins extended head coach’s streak to seven consecutive seasons with at least 18 victories and included a marquee win over No. 16 West Virginia. Under her guidance, Lauryn Swann and Breya Cunningham earned postseason conference honors. Swann, who was named Big 12 Player of the Week twice during the season, was selected to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team, while Cunningham earned All-Conference Honorable Mention recognition.

The 2023-24 season saw the Wildcats earn their fourth-straight and 11th overall bid to the NCAA Tournament. Arizona concluded the season with 18 wins that included victories over No. 15 Utah and No. 3 Stanford. The win over the Cardinal was the first at Maples Pavilion since 2001 and was the highest-ranked road win in program history. It additionally marked the program's fifth win over a top-five team, and each of those wins have come under Barnes.

Helena Pueyo, Esmery Martinez, Jada Williams, Breya Cunningham and Skylar Jones each garnered conference annual awards. Pueyo tabbed spots on the All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Defensive teams, and Martinez was honorable mention for both teams. Williams earned a spot on the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team while Cunningham and Jones were both honorable mention.

Pueyo broke the program's career and single-season steals record with 312 in her career and 110 in the 2023-24 season. She additionally concluded her career having played 3,874 minutes, the fifth-most by a player in program history.

Martinez and Pueyo became the 12th and 13th WNBA Draft picks in program history, and the duo being selected marked the third time in program history that two Wildcats have been chosen in the same draft.

In 2022-23, Barnes led the program to its tenth NCAA Tournament berth and its fifth 20-win season in as many years. Her squad recorded five top-25 wins and was ranked in the AP Top 25 for the entirety of its season. For the second year in a row Arizona led the Pac-12 in attendance, averaging 7,679 fans. That number checked into the national rankings at ninth.

A number of Wildcats earned recognition at the conclusion of the year with Cate Reese becoming just the second player in program history to receive All-Pac-12 recognition four times. Shaina Pellington garnered Pac-12 Co-Most Improved Player of the Year honors, All-Pac-12 laurels and Pac-12 All-Defensive accolades, and Pueyo also earned a Pac-12 All-Defensive nod. Martinez rounded out the group with All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention recognition.

The 2021-22 season was another banner season that saw Barnes become the first coach in program history to win 20 or more games in four consecutive seasons. Arizona hosted and participated in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament in McKale Center for the first time since 1998 while reaching a record-breaking AP national ranking as high as fourth in the nation.

Her sixth season at the helm of the program also included a capturing of the Pac-12 attendance crown with an average crowd of 7,822, which ranked sixth nationally. Barnes also continued her world-class coaching experience with another stint with Team USA Basketball, working as a court coach for the U.S. Women’s National Team’s spring training camp.

In her fifth season, Barnes was a finalist for the WBCA Coach of the Year and was a semifinalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year. Heading into the NCAA Tournament, she became the 11th coach to play and coach in the NCAA Tournament at their alma mater. Once the Wildcats reached the National Championship game, she became the fourth coach to lead her alma mater to the title game.
 
Barnes became the youngest coach since 2014 to make the Final Four and was also the first coach since 2016 to reach the Final Four in their first five years as a head coach. She also helped Arizona become the first team ever to reach the National Championship game after missing the previous 10+ NCAA Tournaments.
 
During the NCAA Tournament, Arizona defeated UConn in the Final Four, which was the first time in school history Arizona knocked off both the No. 1 team in the nation as well as a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
 
During the shortened 2020-21 season, Arizona still managed to win 20 games for the third year in a row, a feat that hasn’t been seen since 2005. The Wildcats were ranked in the AP Top 10 14 times as well as ranked in the Top 25 all season long.
 
The Wildcats finished in second place in the loaded Pac-12, their highest finish since the 2003-04 season when Arizona won the Pac-10. During the year, Arizona swept the regular season series vs. Oregon for the first time in 10 years and also swept Oregon and Oregon State in the same weekend for the first time in 10 years.
 
Individually, Aari McDonald was named Pac-12 Player of the Year and Co-Defensive Player of the Year while being named an All-American by the WBCA, Associated Press and the USBWA. She became Arizona’s first three-time AP All-American and two-time First Team WBCA All-American.
 
Sam Thomas was named Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was awarded the Elite 90 Award at the Final Four, which goes to the student-athlete with the highest GPA among everyone competing in the Final Four. Thomas was named All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Defense for the second year in a row and was a Senior CLASS Award Candidate.
 
Cate Reese was named All-Pac-12 for the second year in a row, Trinity Baptiste was named honorable mention All-Pac-12 and Lauren Ware was named honorable mention Pac-12 All-Freshman to wrap up postseason awards for the Wildcats. Arizona has now been represented on the All-Freshman team four years in a row.
 
In her fourth season at the helm, Barnes led Arizona to one of the most successful seasons in school history as the Wildcats finished the season with a 24-7 record, tied for the second-most wins in school history. Arizona finished in fourth place in a loaded Pac-12 for the first time since 2011 and advanced to their first Pac-12 Tournament Semifinals since the 2011 edition of the tournament.
 
Because of that, Barnes was named a finalist for the WBCA and Naismith Coach of the Year Award.
 
For the first time since 2005, Arizona won at least 20 games for the second year in a row and won at least 24 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history. The Wildcats won three games over top-10 opponents for the first time in school history and also beat their first top-five team in program history after beating No. 4 Stanford in overtime at McKale Center.
 
Additionally, Arizona’s win in Corvallis over No. 9 Oregon State was the first time in school history Arizona beat a top-10 team on the road.
 
The Wildcats entered the AP Poll for the first time since 2004 and spent the final 16 weeks of the season ranked. Arizona finished the year ranked No. 12 in both the AP and Coaches poll, which is the highest final ranking since the 1998 season. The Wildcats reached No. 11 in the AP Poll on Feb. 17.
 
Attendance at McKale Center was the highest it has ever been as the Wildcats finished second in the Pac-12 and 12th in the nation in average attendance (5,944). On Jan. 24, 10,160 fans packed the stands to watch Arizona take down Arizona State in the largest regular season crowd in school history. The top 11 attended games in school history have come during the Adia Barnes era, which six of them came during the 2019-20 season.
 
The Wildcats were on track to compete in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005 and had a strong chance to host the first two rounds, but the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
 
Barnes helped guide Aari McDonald to multiple All-America honors and the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as she led the Pac-12 in scoring and steals per game for the second-straight season. She was also named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, the Wade Trophy and the Honda Award.
 
Cate Reese was named All-Pac-12 and was also a finalist for the Katrina McClain Award for the top power forward in the nation. Additionally, Sam Thomas was named Pac-12 All-Defense and honorable mention All-Pac-12. Helena Pueyo was also named Pac-12 All-Freshman Honorable Mention.

During her third season, Barnes led the Wildcats on a historic run to a WNIT title. Arizona finished the season with 24 wins, the most since the 2003-04 season to complete the largest turnaround in school history as well as the largest turnaround of any school in the 2018-19 season.

The Wildcats won the 2019 WNIT title in front of record-breaking crowds at McKale Center. The six postseason wins were played in front of a total crowd of 45,602 fans. Arizona broke program and Pac-12 attendance records with a sellout crowd of 14,644 for the championship game victory over Northwestern.

Sophomore Aari McDonald earned national accolades in 2018-19 after breaking the school's single season scoring record, previously held by Barnes. McDonald was an Associated Press and WBCA Honorable Mention All-American while also being selected to the All-Pac-12 and Defensive All-Pac-12 teams.

Cate Reese, a piece of Arizona's highest-rated recruiting class ever, was a 2018-19 Pac-12 All-Freshmen Team selection after earning Freshman of the Week honors on three separate occasions during the season.

Barnes helped guide the Wildcats to their best year in the classroom, posting a team GPA of 3.2, which included the best semester in program history. The women's basketball program has also won the Athletic Director's Cup for Community Service three years in a row, which is awarded to the team who logs the most community service hours in Arizona Athletics.

Off the court, she helped Sam Thomas be named First Team Pac-12 All-Academic and First Team CoSIDA Academic All-District. Lucia Alonso and Tee Tee Starks were also named to the Pac-12 All-Academic Team.

In her second year as head coach, Barnes signed the highest ranked recruiting class in Arizona history as ProspectsNation.com ranked the class at the fifth-best in the country. The class of 2018 was highlighted by five-star prospect Cate Reese, who became Arizona’s first McDonald’s All-American in program history. Reese was also named an honorable mention All-American by the Naismith Trophy.

Barnes and co. brought in four other signees, who include Bryce Nixon, Semaj Smith, Shalyse Smith and Valeria Trucco. Semaj Smith and Trucco were also rated as five-star post players, Shalyse Smith was rated as a four-star forward and Nixon was rated as a three-star guard. Barnes and the rest of the coaching staff secured National Letters of Intent from prospects in Arizona, California, Italy, Texas and Washington.

Under her guidance, Sam Thomas was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and JaLea Bennett was named honorable mention All-Pac-12. Thomas finished the season with the fourth-most rebounds for a freshman in Arizona history (209) and scored the 10th-most points for a freshman (306) while leading all freshmen in the Pac-12 in rebounding, steals, blocks and minutes. Additionally, all three returners from the 2016-17 season (Bennett, Lucia Alonso and Destiny Graham) all set career-highs in points and rebounds.

Barnes led the Wildcats to a 14-16 record in her first year at the helm with a 5-13 Pac-12 record. 14 wins is the most since the 2011-12 season and five conference wins is the most in the Pac-12 era for the Wildcats.

Under her direction, five Wildcats averaged their career-high in scoring, including LaBrittney Jones, who was named All-Pac-12 by averaging 15.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. Jones is the first Wildcat to be named to the All-Pac-12 team since Davellyn Whyte made the 2013 team.

Throughout the season, the Wildcats showed that they never gave up, which is a trait that Barnes instilled in the team. A perfect example was at the end of the season when the Wildcats were on a seven-game losing streak, but were able to finish off the season 3-3.

On Feb. 17, 2017, the Wildcats broke a four-game losing streak to rival Arizona State as they beat the Sun Devils by a score of 62-58. It was also special because at the time, Barnes had never lost to Arizona State as a player or coach at the time.

Known as a stellar recruiter, Barnes brought in five recruits for the 2017 class, which was ranked 30th in the country. Those five include Kiana Barkhoff, Sam Fatkin, Marlee Kyles, Sam Thomas and Mallory Vaughn. Of those five signees, four of them were rated three stars by ESPN.com and Thomas was rated four stars. Four of the five signees were named Player of the Year in their respective states.

Prior to bringing on five 2017 signees, Barnes had to work quickly as she brought in guards Lucia Alonso and Bria Rice to the team in 2016. Alonso started 27 games at the point guard position and shot 43% from three, which is the second-highest single-season three-point percentage in school history.

Additionally to her success on the court and in recruiting in 2017, Barnes made it a point to get better in the classroom and in the community. The Wildcats had their best academic semester in a decade and also led the athletic department in community service hours.

Barnes joined the staff at Washington in 2011 and helped boost the Huskies profile in the Pac-12 and nationally, culminating in a trip to the Final Four this year. After three seasons on staff, Barnes was promoted to recruiting coordinator, where she handled all aspects of recruiting including budget, compliance and planning, in addition to her role in player development.

Prior to Barnes arrival for the 2011-12 season, Washington hadn’t posted a 20-win season in six years. Since then, the Huskies have posted five straight, including a 26-win season this year.

While at Washington, Barnes coached Kelsey Plum, who was Washington’s first ever WBCA All-American in the 2015-16 season. She led the conference and was fourth in the nation as she scored 25.9 points per game during the 2015-16 season and led the country in free throws made with 266. Plum became the fastest player in the Pac-12 and the seventh-fastest player in NCAA history to reach 2,000 points. As a sophomore, she was named a Wooden Top-15 Nominee as she averaged 22.6 points per game and set a Washington school record as she scored 45 points on Nov. 14, 2015. Plum set the Washington single-season and Pac-12 record for points with 712 and was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.

Barnes also coached Chantel Osahor, who became a star in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. As a junior, she started every game and averaged a double-double with 10.1 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. She broke the Washington single-season record with 417 boards in 2015-16. Osahor was named the NCAA Lexington Region MVP as she averaged 14.5 points and 15 rebounds per game. She dominated in the Regional Final as she scored 24 points and grabbed 18 boards.

A three-time all-conference selection and '98 graduate of Arizona, Barnes was voted USBWA first-team All-American and Pac-10 player of the year in 1997-98. Her 2,237 career points currently rank ninth on the Pac-12’s all-time scoring list. Following her collegiate career, Barnes played professionally for 12 seasons in the WNBA and overseas. She won a WNBA Championship with the Seattle Storm in 2004, was named to the Storm’s All-Decade Team, and also played for Cleveland, Minnesota and Sacramento. Her overseas career included stops in the Ukraine, Israel, Turkey, Russia and Italy.

In addition to her playing and coaching career, Barnes has been extremely active in the community through the Adia Barnes Foundation, which mentors under-served youth and conducts charitable events and community service projects such as school supply drives. Barnes spent 10 years as the Seattle Storm’s TV analyst for NBA TV and FOX Sports Northwest and also spent time as the color commentator for Storm radio broadcasts.

A native of San Diego, Calif., Barnes is married to Salvo Coppa, who coached for 14 seasons prior to arriving at Arizona, including 10 professionally in Italy and with three separate national teams. She is also the mother of one son, Matteo and one daughter, Capri.