South Dakota State’s head women’s basketball coach, Aaron Johnson, was named to the watch list for the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award presented by her Hoop Stats.
Johnston enters his 25th season as the helm of the Jackrabbit program. The Jacks are coming off a 27-6 record in 2023-24 and a fourth consecutive Summit League regular season title. SDSU returned to the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time in program history via its 11th Summit League Tournament Championship.
Award Eligibility & Schedule
To be eligible for the award, coaches must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be “mid-major.” The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC.
The 10-person midseason watch list will be announced in January. The five finalists for the award will be announced in March, with the winner being named around the Final Four. Coaches will be assessed across the entire season, including postseason play. Beyond on-court success, other factors such as recruiting, preseason expectations, injuries, and tactical coaching will also be weighed when assessing each candidate. Inclusion on previous watch lists is not a requirement to be considered for future watch lists.