Jeff Walz didn’t want to take any job. He wanted to take the right job.
The now former Maryland women’s basketball associate head coach feels he did just that. Walz, a Kentucky native, became the new head coach at Louisville last Tuesday. He replaces Tom Collen, who left last week to take over at Arkansas.
Walz spent the last five seasons at Maryland, where he helped head coach Brenda Frese turn the Terps into a national power that reached four straight NCAA tournaments and won the national title last year. He is credited with drawing up the play that led to Kristi Toliver’s game-tying three-pointer at the end of regulation in last year’s national title game against Duke.
“I always felt the opportunity would be there to become a head coach, but I didn’t think this opportunity would ever come about,” Walz said.
Walz is originally from Fort Thomas, Ky., and graduated from Northern Kentucky in 1995. His résumé includes stops at Nebraska and Western Kentucky before joining Frese when she took over at Minnesota in 2001.
Louisville is not only a great fit for Walz geographically, but it is also a program poised to challenge for the Big East Conference title and make a deep run in the NCAA tournament next year. The Cardinals lose just three seniors from this season’s team that went 27-8 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Among the key returnees for Louisville in Walz’s first season is sophomore All-American Angel McCoughtry, a St. Frances graduate and Big East player of the year who averaged 21.9 points and 10.6 rebounds a game this season.
“As a staff, we’ve had an incredible experience and learned so much together,” Frese said in a statement. “[Walz is] a huge reason for our success. He really was a person I could count on in virtually any situation, and what was especially comforting was that I had a high level of trust with him. He’s deserving and ready for this opportunity.”
Walz said while he is excited about returning to Kentucky with his wife and two children, he will always have a special place in his heart for the time he spent at Maryland.
“Brenda Frese is a special coach and a great person to work for,” Walz said. “Everyone from the top of the administration down to the players made the last five years the time of my life. I’ll never forget the success we had together at Maryland.”
