UNC Greensboro

Trina Patterson enters her ninth year at UNCG in the 2024-25 season. 

During the 2023-24 season, Patterson led the Spartans to their seventh appearance in the SoCon Championship and recorded her third season with 20 or more wins. In addition, she saw graduate student Ayanna Khalfani be named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, Second Team All-Conference, and All-Defensive Team, while Jayde Gamble earned a spot on the First Team All-Conference list. 

Overall during her decorated head coaching career, Patterson has guided numerous players to America East, Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), Pac 12, Conference USA and Southern conference honors, among those a conference player of the year rookie of the year, and members of all-conference, all-rookie, all-defensive, all-academic and all-tournament teams.

Named the 2019-20 SoCon Coach of the Year for the second time in four years, Patterson guided the Spartans to one of their finest seasons in program history. In leading UNCG to its first Regular Season conference title since 2002, the Spartans advanced to the conference tournament championship contest.

Nadine Soliman and Te'ja Twitty both earned SoCon All-Conference honors under Patterson in 2020, with the former receiving First Team honors and the team's first-ever Player of the Year recognition. 

Soliman became the program leading scorer against Samford, retiring with a UNCG all-time best 2,084 points, 177 more than any other player in history. She also set a program record in games played (128) under Patterson, in addition to career field goals made (751) and three-point field goals made (222). Her 709 rebounds rank fourth in Division I program history.

Patterson made an immediate impact in her first year leading the Spartans to 20 wins and their first trip to the postseason since the 2001-02 season.

Following the SoCon Tournament, Patterson led the Spartans on a tremendous postseason run in the Women's Basketball Invitational. UNCG earned a road victory at Charleston Southern before knocking off Brown and Milwaukee at Fleming Gymnasium to advance to the WBI Championship Game.

After leading the turnaround for the Spartans, she was named the 2017 SoCon Coach of the Year. UNCG had three players earn all-conference nods, headlined by unanimous SoCon Freshman of the Year and second team honoree Soliman. Senior guard Bailey Williams garnered a third team selection, while forward Te'ja Twitty received all-freshman recognition.
 
THE TRINA PATTERSON FILE
Hometown: Newport News, Virginia
Education: Virginia, 1987 (Bachelor’s, rhetoric and communication studies); National University, 2002 (Master’s, human resource management)
Husband: Carl
Children: Carl Jr., Matthew and Joshua
Birthday: July 7
 
Coaching Career
2016-present: UNCG (Head Coach)
2013-16: Old Dominion (Assistant Coach)
2012-14: Stanford (Assistant Coach)
2002-10: Albany (Head Coach)
1999-2000: Maryland Eastern Shore (Head Coach)
1991-99: William & Mary (Head Coach)

Career Honors

• Named to the ABIS Top Black Basketball Coaches to Watch list for 2024
• SoCon Coach of the Year (2020 & 2017)
• Achieving Coaching Excellence College Basketball Coaching Honor Roll (2020)
• America East Coach of the Year (2008)
• CAA Coach of the Year (1994)

• Worked under head coach Karen Barefoot.
• During her time at ODU, the Lady Monarchs posted three straight appearances in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).
• Helped Old Dominion bring in recruiting classes ranked in the top-50 in the nation her last two seasons.
• The Lady Monarchs had six All-Conference honorees, including Jennie Simms, who was named the 2015 C-USA Newcomer of the Year and was a two-time Conference USA All-Conference First Team selection.

• Worked under Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer.
• During that span Stanford racked up a 68-5 record, capturing the Pac-12 double (conference regular-season and tournament titles) each season, earning a No. 1 ranking and reaching its fifth straight Final Four in 2012.
• Patterson worked with Stanford's post players.
• Nnemkadi and Chiney Oguwmike were named All-Americans and drafted No. 1 overall in their repsective WNBA drafts  

• 2007-08 America East Coach of the Year.
• Guided the Great Danes to a school-record 10 wins in conference play.
• Albany advanced to the semifinals of the America East Tournament.

• 1993-94 CAA Coach of the Year.
• Took over a program that had not experienced a winning season at the Division I level.
• In her second year at the helm, Patterson guided the Tribe to the championship game of the 1993 CAA Tournament.
• In her third season, she led the team to a 20-8 record and a third-place finish in the conference standings.

• Her first USA Basketball coaching stint was in 1998, as she served on Nell Fortner's staff for the R. William Jones Cup squad that went 5-0 and captured the gold medal. This team included future Olympians Tamika Catchings and Becky Harmon.
• She would next reunite with former college head coach Debbie Ryan, serving on Ryan's staff as an assistant coach with the 2003 USA Basketball Pan-American Games Team that won the silver medal.

• Patterson earned four varsity letters and was a member of four consecutive NCAA Tournament teams under head coach Debbie Ryan at Virginia from 1983-87.
• The Cavaliers went 95-23, winning 20-plus games each season, capturing three Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season titles and helping UVa to a No. 3 national ranking.
• Led Virginia in rebounding in the 1985-86 season.
• As a team captain during her senior season (1986-87), Patterson helped Virginia post a 26-5 record and reach the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.