WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest and second-year head coach Megan Gebbia have agreed to a contract extension, Director of Athletics John Currie announced on Monday.
"First I want to thank Director of Athletics John Currie, the athletics department and the entire Wake Forest and Winston-Salem community for supporting our program,” Gebbia said. “The support was felt throughout our first season and shows how much basketball is valued at Wake Forest. I am excited for the future as we continue to grow this program and work to compete for championships.”
"Coach Megan Gebbia and her staff hit the ground running upon arrival in Winston-Salem a year ago and did an excellent job of setting the building blocks of a competitive and winning culture within our women’s basketball program," Currie said. "Coach Gebbia, her family, and her staff have poured themselves into building relationships with our student-athletes and all those in the Wake Forest community over the past 14 months. I expect many more memorable moments and exciting victories in the years to come as our women’s basketball student-athletes continue to excel on the court, in the classroom and in our community."
“This past season has been a great experience to grow and learn with Coach Gebbia and her staff,” junior guard Elise Williams said. “She not only has helped us become better basketball players, but has helped us develop as young women. I am excited to continue to see the program grow under her leadership.”
Gebbia made an impact in her first season as the Deacs grabbed their most wins since the 2011-12 season and led the Demon Deacons to a memorable three-day run at the ACC Tournament. During their three days in Greensboro, Wake Forest had the second-largest halftime comeback in ACC Tournament history, erasing an 18-point halftime deficit to defeat Florida State. It was one of a number of big wins during the first season of the Gebbia era.
The Deacs claimed a key road win in the final year of the ACC/Big Ten, defeating Minnetsota in late November. In the final week of January, the Demon Deacons recorded a pair of wins over eventual Elite Eight teams, taking down Louisville, the first win over the Cardinals in program history, and Miami. Both victories highlighted 12 total wins at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the fourth-highest total in program history.
As a team, Wake Forest had their second-highest total of threes in program history as the motion-style offense of Gebbia produced 227 threes on the season.
The Deacs also got the job done on the defensive side of the ball, blocking 123 shots during the season which ranked fourth in program history and finished the season ranked in the top 100 nationally. Wake Forest also ranked in the top 70 nationally in points per game allowed and in the top 60 nationally in three-point defense.
On the recruiting side, Gebbia signed top talent for her first class, inking a top-25 recruiting class according to ESPNW. It also was the first time since the 2014 class that the Deacs have signed multiple top-100 players in the same class and just the second time in the ESPNW era.
