University of Delaware Athletics
Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- adairnd@udel.edu
- Phone:
- 302-831-4043
Natasha Adair was selected as just the fourth women's basketball head coach in the program's illustrious history on May 14, 2017 and concluded her fifth season with the Blue Hens this past 2021-22 campaign.
The 2021-22 campaign was a special one indeed as Adair's squad hoisted up the program's third CAA title, and made their appearance in the upcoming 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, the first time since the 2013 campaign. Adair also helped guide another spectacular season from tournament Most Outstanding Player, back-to-back CAA Player of the year, first team all-conference and all-tournament selection Jasmine Dickey, who became the second player in recent program history to earn back-to-back player of the year honors. Dickey concluded her career in the Blue & Gold uniform totaling 1,981 points, 1,038 rebounds, 213 steals, 192 assists, 82 steals and 48 double-doubles. Adair captured her 150th-career win against College of Charleston (Jan. 7), a place where she earned her first career win at the helm of a program. The team finished the year posting back-to-back 20-win seasons with a 24-8 overall record, including a 15-3 mark in conference play. Most recently, Adair, along with assistant coach Darrell Mosley, were named to Advancement of Blacks in Sports (ABIS) Women's Basketball Black Coaches Watch List (Mar. 15).
A season ago, Adair took home Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Coach of the Year honors after she helped guide her squad to a regular-season title, WNIT Charlotte Region Championship and a WNIT semifinals appearance, finishing with a 24-5 overall record and16-2 mark in league play. Adair's team was named the statistical champion in offensive rebounds per game (20.3).
In her first season (2017-18) with the Blue Hens, Adair guided Delaware to its second most wins (19) and first postseason appearance since the 2013-14 campaign. Additionally, the Hens captured 10 conference victories for the first time since 2012-13.
Under Adair, the Blue Hens were an offensive threat as Delaware averaged its most points (65.8) since 2012-13. Additionally, the Hens logged 80-plus points in six different contests for the first time in six seasons while logging five straight games of 70-plus points to open the year while UD only reached 70-plus points three times in each of the previous two seasons.
Delaware also saw the fifth player in program history pick up Conference Player of the Year accolades as forward Nicole Enabosi earned the Colonial Athletic Association's top individual award while also garnering CAA All-First Team and All-Defensive Team honors for the second straight season. Enabosi finished her junior year by overtaking the Blue Hens single-season records in rebounds (375) and double-doubles (23) while her name is littered among the Delaware single-season Top 10 for points, points per game, rebounds per game, blocked shots, field goals made, field goal percentage, free throws made and free throws attempted.
Adair, who has more than 20 years of coaching experience under her belt, has received the national attention of USA Basketball. She served as an assistant coach for the U18 Women's National Basketball Team and the U19 Women's World Cup Team Trials Court, where both teams took home Gold medals.
Adair joined the Blue Hens from Georgetown University, where she turned around a four-win Hoyas program to a postseason contender in three seasons as head coach. Behind Adair's leadership, GU finished 2016-17 with a 17-13 record, the most wins for the Hoyas since 2011-12, and garnered the team's second straight trip to the Postseason WNIT.
The Silver Spring, Md. native is no stranger to the Colonial Athletic Association as her first head coaching stint took her to the College of Charleston, where she was 35-31 overall. In the Cougars' first season in the CAA in 2013-14, Adair guided The College to record of 19-15, marking the third-highest win total in the school's Division I era. Additionally, the squad finished third in conference play, defeated five postseason teams from the previous year and advanced to the semifinals of both the CAA Championship and the Women's Basketball invitational.
A founding member of the Black Coaches United, Adair has been recognized by the organization, as well as Advancement of Blacks in Sports (ABIS), as one of the top women's basketball coaches in the country. Adair prides herself on being known as a game-changer as it relates to social justice and creating a safe space for athletes to find and use their voice; where she was a guest on ESPNW's "Around the Rim" with LaChina Robinson and Delaware's UD Winning Women in Athletics: Trailblazers and Changemakers Webinar Series. She is Delaware's representative on the CAA United for Change committee along with being the head coach representative at the Student-Athletes Against Social Injustice Task Force educational session.
The Silver Spring, Md. native played collegiately at Pensacola Junior College (1990-92) before playing and graduating from the University of South Florida with a degree in communications in 1994. Adair previously spent 14 seasons in the assistant coaching ranks, with eight years (2004-12) at Wake Forest University and six seasons (1998-04) at Georgetown University. Her coaching career has seen her develop and mentor four WNBA draft picks and several players who went on to play professionally overseas.
Adair has two children, her son Aaron, a recent summa cum laude graduate from Johnson C. Smith University, and her daughter Allyssa, a high school junior who aspires to play volleyball at the collegiate level.
The Natasha Adair File
Born: Natasha Denean Adair (née Barnes), September 7, 1972 in Silver Spring, Md.
Family: Aaron (played basketball at Johnson C. Smith University before graduating in 2020) and daughter, Allyssa
High School: Albert Einstein High School (Kensington, Md.), 1990; Hall of Fame, 2011
College: University of South Florida, communications degree, 1994
PLAYING CAREER
1990-92: Pensacola Junior College (two state championships, led team in rebounding)
1992-94: University of South Florida
COACHING CAREER
1998-04: Assistant Coach, Georgetown University (averaged 15 wins per season, four WNIT appearances)
2004-07: Assistant Coach, Wake Forest University (averaged 13 wins per season, one WNIT appearance)
2007-12: Associate Head Coach, Wake Forest University (averaged 17 wins per season, three WNIT appearances)
2012-13: Head Coach, College of Charleston (35-31 record, two WBI postseason appearances)
2012-13: 16-16
2013-14: 19-15
2014-17: Head Coach, Georgetown University (37-54, two WNIT appearances)
2014-15: 4-27
2015-16: 16-14
2016-17: 17-13
2017-Present: Head Coach, University of Delaware (95-58, one NCAA Apperance, two WNIT appearance)
2017-18: 19-13 (Postseason WNIT)
2018-19: 16-15
2019-20: 12-17
2020-21: 24-5 (Postseason WNIT, semifinalist)
2021-22: 24-8 (Postseason NCAA, First Round)
Career Coaching Record: 167-143
USA BASKETBALL
2017: U19 Women's World Cup Team Trials Court Coach
2018: USA Basketball Las Vegas Coach Academy Speaker
2018: U18 Women's National Team Assistant Coach (FIBA Americas Gold Medalist)
2019: U19 Women's National Team Assistant Coach (FIBA World Cup Gold Medalist)
