The shakeups on the Iowa women's basketball coaching staff aren't quite complete. Assistant coach Raina Harmon left earlier this offseason to take the head coach position at Florida Gulf Coast. In April, former Georgia Tech assistant LaSondra Barrett was announced as the newest member of the Iowa coaching staff.
As confirmed by The Gazette's Jeff Linder, Tania Davis has also departed the Iowa coaching staff. Davis is no longer listed on the Iowa coaching staff page on Hawkeye Sports.
Davis has an extensive history the Iowa program as a coach and player. A highly-touted prospect coming out of high school, Davis started 16 games in her debut season and earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2016.
Although an ACL tear prematurely ended her sophomore season and limited her playing time, she returned to full health as a senior and posted career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, field goals made, and three-pointers made and helped guide Iowa to a Elite 8 appearance in the postseason.
After her playing career wrapped up, Davis moved into coaching, first as a graduate assistant at Clemson (where she earned a master's in athletic leadership in 2021) and then as an assistant coach at Omaha. Davis returned to Iowa ahead of the 2023-24 season, joining Lisa Bluder's staff as an assistant coach and director of player development.
Davis' decision to depart is not particularly surprising given the realities of the position. Director of player development is usually an entry level role on a coaching staff and is compensated at a lower rate than the other assistant coaching positions. In fiscal year 2024, Raina Harmon, Randi Henderson, and Abby Stamp had a base pay between $155,000 and $170,000, while Davis had a base pay of $77,250. It's unclear as yet where Davis may be going, but if she's headed to be a more senior assistant coach, she's likely to get paid more and have more coaching responsibilities.
This departure opens up another spot on the Iowa coaching staff that will need to be filled. Davis' replacement is likely to have a similar profile to hers: a young coach early in his/her career beginning to progress through the coaching ranks.
Coaches in this role often have former playing experience, though that's obviously not a requirement. They may also have ties to the program, though that's also not a requirement. Former star Kathleen Doyle may have been an option, but she took a job as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at DePaul late last month.
Stay tuned to Hawkeye Beacon for further updates on Iowa's coaching staff additions, transfer portal activity, recruiting updates and more.
