Staff Directory
- Title:
- Head Coach, Women's Basketball
Becky Burke enters her second season as head coach of Arizona Women’s Basketball in 2026-27. Burke was named the 10th head coach in program history on April 9, 2025.
In her first season in Tucson, Burke guided the Wildcats to a 12-18 overall record, including a 12-8 mark at McKale Center at ALKEME Arena. Burke earned her first Big 12 victory on Jan. 6 with a 75-72 win over BYU in Tucson.
Arizona established itself among the Big 12’s best in several statistical categories during Burke’s first season, ranking second in the conference in free throw percentage and third in steals. Four different Wildcats recorded double-double performances during the season, led by Noelani Cornfield with three.
Cornfield flourished in Burke’s system, earning All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors after averaging 14.4 points and 6.9 assists per game during the regular season. The senior ranked second in the Big 12 in both assists and steals per game and totaled 192 assists through 28 games, ranking third on Arizona’s single-season assists list.
Sumayah Sugapong also emerged as one of the Big 12’s top guards during her first season in Tucson. Sugapong led the conference in free throw percentage and is one of four returning players in the Big 12 to record a 30-point performance during the 2025-26 season.
Sugapong closed conference play with some of her best basketball of the season. Over the final seven games of Big 12 play, she averaged 18.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game while shooting 41.0 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from 3-point range and 87.5 percent from the free throw line. Among 12 of the league’s top returning players, she was the only player in the group to average at least 18 points while shooting 40 percent from three and 85 percent from the free throw line.
Arizona continued to receive strong support at home throughout Burke’s first season, finishing 11th nationally in attendance and reinforcing McKale Center at ALKEME Arena as one of the premier environments in women’s college basketball.
Following her first season, Burke and her staff continued building the program through recruiting and roster development. Arizona’s 2026 recruiting class was ranked No. 17 nationally by ESPN and No. 1 among Big 12 programs, highlighted by three ESPN Top 100 signees.
Burke also strengthened her staff entering her second season, adding veteran head coach Todd Starkey as associate head coach and Devan Newman as an assistant coach. James Ewing was elevated to associate head coach, while Arizona alum Julie Hairgrove was promoted to chief of staff. Burke also added Peyton Klauber as director of basketball operations and Emily Meinert as performance enhancement assistant coach.
Prior to arriving in Tucson, Burke spent three seasons as the head coach at Buffalo. In 2024-25, her third season with the Bulls, Buffalo posted a program-record 30 wins and captured the WNIT championship.
In her second season at Buffalo, Burke led the Bulls to 19 wins, an appearance in the MAC Championship game and a postseason WNIT berth. Buffalo won 10 conference games, a seven-win improvement from the previous season and the largest improvement by any MAC program that year. The Bulls finished fourth in the league after being selected eighth in the MAC preseason poll.
In her first season at Buffalo, Burke’s team ranked in the top half of the MAC in field goal percentage (.438), 3-point field goal percentage (.343), scoring defense (65.1), 3-point field goal defense (.315), assists per game (13.8) and assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.0).
Before Buffalo, Burke spent two seasons as the head coach at USC Upstate, where she engineered one of the nation’s top turnarounds during the 2021-22 season. The Spartans were picked 10th in the Big South preseason poll before earning the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye in the conference tournament. USC Upstate tied its Division I-era record with 22 overall wins and 14 conference victories, representing a 14-win improvement from the previous season.
Burke previously spent two seasons as head coach at the University of Charleston in West Virginia. In her first season in 2018-19, she guided the Golden Eagles to a 25-7 record, a 12-win improvement from the previous year. Charleston entered the Top 25 and earned its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014.
The Golden Eagles followed with a 23-7 record during Burke’s second season while once again leading the conference in scoring defense.
Burke began her head coaching career at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, where she was selected to launch the women’s basketball program in 2015. She led the Eagles to a winning record during their inaugural campaign in 2016-17. In her second season, Embry-Riddle earned an NAIA Top 25 ranking and finished 21-6 overall with an 11-3 mark in the California Pacific Conference.
Burke was named to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association 30 Under 30 list in 2019 and was the only head coach selected for the honor that year.
Before becoming a head coach, Burke served as an assistant coach at Saint Joseph’s College during the 2014-15 season and as director of basketball operations at Cal State Fullerton in 2013-14.
Burke was a standout student-athlete at the University of Louisville, graduating with a degree in sports management in 2012. During her four-year career, she helped the Cardinals reach three NCAA Tournaments, including the 2009 national championship game and the Sweet 16 in 2011. Burke joined Louisville’s 1,000-point club and became the second Cardinal to participate in the State Farm College 3-Point Shoot-Out, finishing as the runner-up in 2012.
A native of Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Burke starred at Abington Heights High School, where she was named Pennsylvania Class 4A Player of the Year by the Associated Press as a senior and scored more than 2,100 career points.
Burke and her wife, Savannah, have one son, Banks.
