Georgia women's basketball hires McNeese's Ayla Guzzardo as head coach
McNeese's Ayla Guzzardo will be the next head coach of Georgia's women's basketball team. She succeeds Katie Abrahamson-Henderson.
Ayla Guzzardo is on the move from McNeese State. Georgia has hired Guzzardo as the next head coach of its women’s basketball program. Guzzardo’s deal to coach the Bulldogs is for five years.
After making the NCAA Tournament this season as a No. 7 seed, Georgia and former head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson mutually agreed to part ways on Saturday morning . Abrahamson-Henderson was hired at Georgia in 2022 to succeed Joni Taylor, who left for Texas A&M.
Abrahamson-Henderson had previously been at UCF, where she led the Knights to the NCAA Tournament in three of her last four seasons at the helm. Georgia made two trips to March Madness in four seasons under Abrahamson-Henderson. She had an overall record of 69-59 and went 25-40 in SEC play.
Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks moved quickly, hiring Guzzardo less than 48 hours after announcing Abrahamson-Henderson would not return as head coach. He and Guzzardo are both natives of Hammond, Louisiana. Guzzardo completed her first season as head coach at McNeese State, where she won the Southland Conference’s regular season title and guided the Cowgirls to a program-record 29 wins.