Monday afternoon was the beginning of a new era of Penn State Lady Lions basketball, as Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Pat Kraft formally introduced Tanisha Wright as the seventh head coach of the Lady Lions.

A Penn State alum, Wright’s opening press conference was full of gratitude and optimism towards a brighter future. Having been a key player on Penn State’s last Elite Eight team, a longtime WNBA veteran, and former WNBA head coach, she expressed her excitement to get to work and restore the program to what it once was.

On Why Tanisha Wright Is The Right Person For The Job

Kraft opened the press conference with nothing but great things to say about Wright. As one of the best women’s basketball players to ever come out of Penn State, her mere presence alone raises the bar of expectations for the program.

“She was part of an era defined by excellence,” he said. “Big Ten championships, NCAA Tournament runs, national recognition, and a reputation for toughness that became Lady Lions basketball. She didn’t just play here. She helped define what winning looks like as a Penn State Lady Lion, and now goes back to start the next chapter.”

Her ties to the university were only one aspect why Kraft saw her as the right person for the job. She had a 15-year career in the WNBA as one of the league’s best defenders and won a championship with the Seattle Storm in 2010. Even before she retired after a stint with the New York Liberty in 2019, she got into coaching as an assistant at Charlotte from 2017-20.

After retirement, she spent two years as an assistant with the Las Vegas Aces and was credited for being a big piece of the team’s elite defense, as they ranked second in defensive rating in both of her years there. She took the job as the head coach of the Atlanta Dream in 2022, where she was for three years, and oversaw a tangible improvement in the team’s defense.

“Her resume speaks for itself: an All-American, WNBA champion, nearly two decades at the highest levels of basketball, a respected head coach, and a developer of talent,” said Kraft. “But it wasn’t just that impressive resume that is why she’s here. It’s more important for who she is, her passion for mentorship, her belief in building strong women, not just strong players, her commitment to excellence in the classroom, in the community, and in the quiet moments when nobody is watching.”

It was apparent from Kraft’s statement that he firmly believed that the Lady Lions program needed a fresh start to rejuvenate a once-strong program, and he was adamant in his belief that the return of a hometown hero could do that.

On What It Means To Come Home

It was a dream for Wright to come home and coach a program she loves so much. She opened her statement by lauding Kraft’s vision for the program and the alumni base, and made it clear that her objective was to “restore the excellence” of the Lady Lions program.

“I have stayed close to the program throughout the years, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to restore the excellence that this program has experienced over the last 60 years, while continuing to add to the long-lasting Lady Lion legacy,” she said. “This is a dream come true for me, after being gone for 20 years. I never could have imagined sitting in front of you today as the new head coach.”

With fellow Penn State head coaches Katie Schumacher-Cawley and Mike Rhoades sitting in the back of the media room, she also talked about the overall energy of the athletic department and how the fans have rallied behind the success that men’s and women’s hockey, women’s volleyball, and football have brought.

“Penn State is home to anybody who has ever played here,” she said about the reception she received after her hiring. “My teammates can tell you, this place always holds a special place in our hearts. This place will always be home to anybody who has been in the Penn State environment and really engulfed themselves in it, and so just like that, everybody here has been happy to see me and a lot of energy around it.”

On What She Learned From Her WNBA Coaching Experience

The WNBA just exited a long labor dispute that nearly cost games in the upcoming 2026 season, so it was a whirlwind of a few days for Wright earlier this month when she went from dealing with the fallout of the lockout as an assistant coach with the Chicago Sky to becoming head coach at Penn State.

Her previous head coaching experience in Atlanta wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, going just 48-68 with two first-round exits in three seasons, but it provided her with important lessons for the next time she would lead a bench.

“Throughout my time as head coach of the Dream, what I learned is how important it is to really build those relationships, how important it is to really dive in and allow the athletes to know how important they are as people and not just players,” she said. “So I think that’s something that you know at the collegiate level, that I’ll be able to bring that I definitely learned there. It’s more than just the game. You have to impact players, players have to know that you believe in them, that you care about them, and then when they do that, their effort, and how they show up and produce, is a lot better, for sure.”

On The Transfer Portal And Roster Retention

Nine of the 12 players on the 2025-26 Lady Lions still have eligibility remaining, including the team’s two biggest stars in guard Kiyomi McMiller and center Gracie Merkle, but after a coaching change and a second consecutive year of being in the Big Ten’s basement, it’s entirely possible we could see an exodus into the transfer portal.

On that front, with her just taking the job, Wright has emphasized her belief in taking things one day at a time and did not say whether she’s already begun talking with players currently on the roster.

“I am evaluating everything and anything that needs to be evaluated in terms of the Lady Lion program,” she said about player retention. “So after I’m done evaluating, then we’ll make necessary decisions. Right now, it’s just an evaluation period. Even though this is home, I’m like, the new kid on the block, right? And nobody in the neighborhood is the same people in the neighborhood. So it’s just time for me to sit back, evaluate the things that I need to evaluate, and then we’ll assess from there.”

The women’s basketball transfer portal opens on April 6, giving Wright and the staff she’s looking to build two weeks to flesh out a game plan. But with NIL taking over college sports, a coach who has dealt with professional athletes for the last half-decade is much more prepared for the college transition than if it had happened five years earlier.

“I feel like I have the resources here to succeed. I wouldn’t have taken the job if I didn’t think so. I think I’m in a unique position, being that I come from pros. We look at the collegiate landscape now, and it’s sort of heading that way in terms of NIL and different things like that, so I think my experiences with being in the pros, dealing with roster management, dealing with contracts, dealing with agents, building those relationships, position me to be able to handle the landscape that’s happening now.”

On Fan Support & Turning Things Around

The downturn of both Penn State basketball programs has led to waning attendance totals in recent years, with the Lady Lions deciding to play much of their home schedule in Rec Hall for the first time in 30 years to create a more intimate environment. Yet, nothing cures fan apathy quite like winning. An overarching message and goal for Coach Wright in her opening presser?

“Get butts in the seats.”

“I’m excited to get out in the community and really get the fan base,” she said. “So our job is to get butts in the seats. That’s it. Get butts in the seats, fill the stands up, create that environment that, again, we’ve all seen here at Penn State. We know it to be we know it’s out there. There’s a blueprint for it, and so butts in the seats is the focus.”

She also understands that this is a process and, despite what you see in other sports about quick turnarounds, rebuilds take time. After two of the worst years in program history resulted in this coaching change, Wright knows that with recruiting and rebuilding the culture, it won’t be all smooth sailing.

“I can’t make you any promises in terms of timeline,” she said. “It takes time, and my goal was to step in and do that one day at a time. Build it back up. We know that this place has been successful because we’ve seen it. There’s a blueprint for it, and so, not veering too far off the path, attack the blueprint and build it up one day at a time.”

“It didn’t happen overnight when I was here, it didn’t happen overnight when Susan Robinson [Lady Lions All-American in 1992] was here, it took time.”

She left off with a message to the fans, wanting them to do their part in helping restore the prestige of a program that used to perennially make the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

“My message to fans is you guys have been amazing, at least throughout the time that I’ve been at Penn State, and I know there are so many of you who want to see this program back to where it has been in the past.

“We’re looking to rebuild that, and we know we have to build trust in that, but come out and support as we build that back up. I think the Lady Lion athletes deserve that when they come here, and they put on, they deserve that support. So come out, put butts in the seats, and let’s build this thing back together.”