USF Lost Jose Fernandez After 25 Years — Now Kristy Curry Must Rebuild Everything
In Tampa, Kristy Curry was officially named the new women’s basketball head coach at South Florida on Tuesday — a major coaching move that signals a bold new direction for the Bulls program.
Curry arrives with a proven track record — she spent the last 13 seasons as head coach at Alabama, leading the Crimson Tide to the NCAA tournament in 5 of the last 6 seasons.
She replaces interim coach Michele Woods-Baxter, who led USF to a 20-12 record, 13-5 in the American Conference. Jose Fernandez, USF’s coach for 25 seasons, left to coach the WNBA’s Dallas Wings in October.
Under Curry, Alabama posted 20-win seasons in each of the last 5 years. This past season, they went 24-11 as a No. 6 seed — but fell to No. 3 Louisville in the second round.
USF marks Curry’s 4th program. She coached at Purdue from 1999 to 2006, Texas Tech from 2006 to 2013, and Alabama from 2013 to 2026 — building a winning legacy at every stop.
At every program, Curry delivered NCAA tournament appearances. Her biggest moment came at Purdue — the 2001 national championship game. But the Boilermakers fell short, losing to Notre Dame in the final.
