Sources - USC's Lindsay Gottlieb agrees to extension through 2030 - ESPN
University of Southern California women's basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb — responsible for rapidly restoring the Trojans into a national powerhouse — has agreed on a contract extension that'll take her through 2030, sources told ESPN on Friday.
Gottlieb's new deal comes with the Trojans on the cusp of competing for national championships with first-team All-American freshman JuJu Watkins — the nation's best returning player — and ESPN's No. 1-rated recruiting class arriving in the fall.
Gottlieb's recruitment and deployment of Watkins has been met with sold-out Galen Center crowds, national television ratings and an electric environment around the program in the Greater Los Angeles area. Watkins — a prep icon at nearby Sierra Canyon — has starred in national advertising campaigns with LeBron James and Joel Embiid and has become a magnet to recruit the best high school and portal players to USC.
In Gottlieb's third season after arriving to a program in disrepair, the Trojans (29-6) advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament and won the final Pac-12 Conference championship. Gottlieb returned the Trojans to the NCAAs in her second season on the job, boasting a 21-10 record.
Two USC seniors — McKenzie Forbes and Kaitlyn Davis — were selected in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Gottlieb was lured to USC from a two-year tenure as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where she quickly earned the respect and trust of staff and players in the NBA.
Previously, Gottlieb built a perennial NCAA tournament team in her eight seasons at the University of California, including a trip to the Final Four in 2013. She advanced to the NCAA tournament seven times in those eight seasons, winning tournament games in six of those seven