COACHING STAFF
Lindsay Gottlieb | Head Coach
Now entering her fourth season as head coach at USC, Lindsay Gottlieb guided the 2023-24 Women of Troy to a historic run to the NCAA Elite Eight last season. Named a finalist for the 2024 Werner Ladder National Coach of the Year award, Gottlieb led USC to its second-ever Pac-12 Tournament title and to the program’s first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament since 1986.
By the close of USC’s first Elite Eight appearance in 30 years, Gottlieb’s team had posted a 29-6 overall record — marking the most wins since Linda Sharp’s 1985-86 team. Ranked No. 3 in the nation entering the 2024 NCAA Tournament, the Trojans achieved their highest national ranking since standing at No. 3 in the final AP poll of 1986.
Along the way, USC’s 2023-24 season was also highlighted by a standing-room-only crowd at Galen Center to see the Trojans beat rival UCLA, a record-setting 51-point game by freshman JuJu Watkins in USC’s first win at Stanford since 2002-03 and the honor of hosting — and winning — the NCAA First and Second Rounds to earn a trip to the Sweet 16.
With 14 total seasons as a collegiate head coach, Gottlieb has collected a 297-160 overall record. With USC, Gottlieb has tallied a 62-32 record in three seasons of work with the Trojans to date.
A former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach, Gottlieb also spent eight seasons at California, where she led the Golden Bear women to seven NCAA appearances with a trip to the Final Four. She was announced as the USC women's head coach on May 10, 2021.
In her first season with the Women of Troy, Gottlieb navigated a competitive Pac-12 conference as USC posted a 12-16 overall record and went 5-12 in conference play in 2021-22. In her second season with the Trojans, USC's 2023 NCAA Tournament run featured a 21-win campaign.
In 2022-23, Gottlieb guided the Trojans back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. Her 2022-23 USC team went 21-10 overall and served up an upset of then-No. 2 Stanford along the way.
Gottlieb became just the seventh female NBA assistant when she was hired by the Cavs in June of 2019 and the first NCAA women’s head coach to be hired by an NBA team. Cavalier players praised her knowledge of the game, leadership and communication skills.
Prior to her move to the NBA, Gottlieb spent eight seasons (2012-19) as the head coach at Cal, posting a 179-89 (.668) overall record and advancing to the NCAA tourney all but once. Seven of her teams won at least 20 games, including the 2013 squad that went 32-4 (a school record for wins) and made it to the program’s first-ever NCAA Final Four. She was the 2013 Pac-12 Coach of the Year and a Naismith National Coach of the Year finalist and was just the seventh NCAA women’s coach since 1990 to reach the Final Four in the first two seasons of being hired.
Her 179 overall victories still stand as the second-most in Cal history. Her teams finished in the top half of the Pac-12 standings six times, including tied for the regular season title in 2013 (a program first) at 17-1 and second twice. Her Golden Bear players were named All-Americans 10 times and six were WNBA Draft selections.
Gottlieb made her mark immediately at Cal, taking a senior-less team in 2012 to the second round of the NCAAs with a 25-10 overall record and a second place Pac-12 finish. Her 2013 Final Four team snapped Stanford’s 81-game conference winning streak. The Golden Bears were 22-10 in 2014 (second in Pac-12) and 24-10 in 2015 (third in Pac-12), advancing to the NCAA second round both seasons. After dipping to 15-17 in 2016, Cal rebounded with a 20-14 season in 2017 and got to the NCAA second round. Her final two Golden Bear squads were 21-11 in 2018 (NCAA first round) and 20-13 in 2019 (NCAA second round).
Gottlieb was an assistant at Cal for two seasons (2006-07) and then the Golden Bears’ associate head coach in 2008. The Golden Bears had their first winning season in 13 years in 2006 and played in the NCAAs each season. She worked primarily with the post players, with Ashley Walker and Devanei Hampton both becoming All-Americans (Hampton was Cal’s first Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2006 and Walker was the program’s first WNBA draftee when she went in the 2009 first round).
Gottlieb then became the head coach at UC Santa Barbara for three years (2009-11), where she posted a 56-39 (.589) record and led the team to trips to the NCAA (2009) and WNIT (2011) tourneys. She won 75 percent of her Big West games (36-12), captured Big West regular season championships in 2009 and 2011 and the Big West tournament crown in 2009, and was named the 2009 Big West Coach of the Year when UCSB was 22-10 overall and 15-1 in league play. She was the first coach in school history to win 20 games in her debut season. The Gauchos went 15-17 in 2010 and 19-12 in 2011 (falling in WNIT play to USC).
She also was an assistant at Syracuse (2000-01), New Hampshire (2002) and Richmond (2003-05). The Spiders won at least 20 games all three seasons and earned postseason berths in the 2003 and 2004 WNIT and 2005 NCAA tourneys.
Gottlieb played basketball at Brown, serving in the unique role of player and student assistant coach in her 1999 senior season. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Brown in 1999 and has a master’s degree in philosophy of education from Syracuse.
Gottlieb prepped at Scarsdale (N.Y.) High. She was sidelined her senior year with a knee injury, which led her to consider a coaching career.
Gottlieb and her husband, Patrick, have a son, Jordan, and daughter, Reese.
Beth Burns | Associate Head Coach
Beth Burns enters her third season as associate head coach under Lindsay Gottlieb and sixth overall season of service with the Women of Troy. The respected veteran brings in 30 years of work in collegiate women's basketball when she rejoined the USC coaching ranks in June 2022 following five seasons at Louisville.
"Beth Burns is one of the most accomplished, most respected coaches in our game," Gottlieb said. "What is more, she is the perfect fit at this time for the direction of USC basketball. We aim to win championships, and Coach B brings a championship pedigree. She will make a direct impact on the development of our players, as well as add another dynamic element to our ability to elevate our competitive abilities, particularly on the defensive end of the floor.
"I have known Beth for nearly my whole career. She is highly respected by coaches at all levels on the west coast, and players love playing for her," Gottlieb added. "I have wanted to work with her for quite some time, and I'm thrilled that our administration has made a commitment to hiring the strongest staff I could ask for. I'm so excited about the opportunity to do special things here in Troy."
The defensive-minded coach most recently served as the special assistant to the head coach at Louisville, which made two Final Four and two Elite Eight appearances while Burns was on staff. She also was an associate head coach at USC for three seasons after an impressive career at the helm of San Diego State. Burns stands as the Aztecs' winningest coach in program history, as she amassed a 295-186 overall record while leading San Diego State to eight NCAA appearances across two eight-year stints as head coach there. In between, Burns was the head coach at Ohio State from 1997-2001. Burns had begun her collegiate coaching career with the Buckeyes as a graduate assistant coach in 1979 under current Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer.
Burns' extensive experience also includes two seasons as an assistant coach at East Carolina (1981-83), where the Lady Pirates reached a No. 17 national ranking. She also served as an assistant at Colorado (1983-88) and helped the Buffaloes make their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 1987-88. From there, Burns worked under the revered Kay Yow as an assistant at NC State for its 1989 Sweet Sixteen run before taking her first head position at San Diego State.
As a player, Burns became Ohio Wesleyan's all-time leading rebounder and has since been inducted into the Hall of Fame. She received her bachelor's degree in health and physical education at Ohio Wesleyan before earning a master's in physical education from Ohio State in 1981.
Off the court, Burns is devoted to community outreach as well as involvement in the Kay Yow Foundation, where she has served as a member of the foundation's board. In 2008, she was honored with the YWCA's Tribute to Women and Industry (TWIN) award for her outstanding achievements, leadership and contributions to her profession. Girl Scouts San Diego named Burns a "Cool Woman of 2012," and she received an honorary membership to the Phi Kappa Phi honor society. While in Ohio, she established the Beth Burns Bucks for Breast Cancer Research fund at the OSU/James Cancer Hospital and put together an annual fundraiser, OSU Bounce for Bucks, for cancer research.
Wendale Farrow | Assistant Coach
Wendale Farrow enters his fourth season as assistant coach for the USC women's basketball program. Farrow worked alongside current USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb for three seasons while she was at the helm at Cal. In all, Farrow has six years of assistant coaching experience — five with the Golden Bears and one at Vanderbilt. Prior to his rise to an assistant, Farrow garnered great experience in a variety of roles in two seasons at UCLA, where he worked under Cori Close with duties including video coordinator, community service liaison, scout team adviser, camp director and interim recruiting coach. At Cal, Farrow's focus was on the guards, with several Golden Bear guards earning All-Pac-12 awards during his tenure in Berkeley. Cal achieved three 20-win seasons and three NCAA Tournament appearances with Farrow on staff.
"I had the privilege of working with Dale for three years, and I saw firsthand the level of energy, preparation and care that he brings to a team each and everyday," Gottlieb said of Farrow. "He is passionate about basketball strategy and equally passionate about investing in the betterment of young people. He is a servant leader and will embody the type of excellence we are about in our USC women's basketball program."
A Sacramento, Calif., native, Farrow was a CoSIDA All-Academic District honoree while at Eastern Michigan, where he graduated in 2009. He served as a graduate manager there from 2010-12 and later worked as an academic mentor at Michigan while completing his Master of Arts in Educational Leadership Student Affairs from EMU.
Willnett Crockett | Assistant Coach / Recruiting Coordinator
Los Angeles native Willnett Crockett enters her second season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at USC. She joined the Trojans in August 2023, bringing 13 years of coaching experience to her role with the Women of Troy.
"Coach Will is a winner,” USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said of Crockett. "She won two national titles right here in LA as a top high school player. She was an All-American and Gatorade State Player of the Year in California, and then went on to win two national titles in college. She has literally walked in the shoes that our players aspire to, and she will be a terrific mentor and leader for them. She has also built a tremendous reputation as a college coach. At Temple, she had a hand in all aspects of a winning program and helped develop pros. I am most excited to add Coach Will for the quality of human being she is. A woman of high character and work ethic, we are thrilled she has come home to LA to help USC Women’s Basketball achieve our goals.”
A product of Narbonne High School in Los Angeles, Crockett played collegiate basketball at UConn before being drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks and continuing in a pro career that saw her play in the WNBA and internationally. Her coaching career began at Temple, where she spent 13 years as an assistant coach. With the Owls, Crockett helped head coach Tonya Cardoza become the winningest coach in program history with 251 victories. During Crockett’s tenure at Temple, the Owls made three trips to the NCAA Tournament and four WNIT appearances, including two WNIT quarterfinal runs and a semifinal run in 2015.
Temple’s 2016-17 season was one of its best, as the Owls went 24-8 overall, earned an NCAA bid, and finished second in the American Athletic Conference. Reaching the 20-win plateau for the third-straight year, Temple notched the program's best-ever RPI of 18 at the end of regular-season play. The Owls were ranked nationally for five weeks of the season, and beat two nationally-ranked teams (#16/17 DePaul, #20/21 USF).
Crockett was instrumental in mentoring and developing post players at Temple. She also had significant roles in the Owls' recruiting, scouting, practice scheduling, equipment coordinator and individual skill development while also serving as the liaison to strength & conditioning.
In 2022, Crockett returned to her home state of California to serve as director of women’s basketball operations at CSUN for the 2022-23 season.
Crockett is a 2006 graduate of the University of Connecticut, where she earned a bachelor's degree in sociology. She helped UConn win two NCAA Championships along with two BIG EAST regular season titles and two BIG EAST Tournament title. She was also a part of UConn's record-breaking Division I 70-game winning streak from 2001-03.
Crockett was selected in the second round of the 2006 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks (22nd pick overall). She also played for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and competed professionally overseas in Africa, Latvia and Lithuania.
Courtney Jaco | Assistant Coach
USC alum Courtney Jaco enters her second season as an assistant coach at USC, having served the previous two seasons as director of player development under head coach Lindsay Gottlieb. Jaco also spent two seasons as USC's video coordinator.
USC's No. 2 all-time 3-point shooter, Jaco returned to Troy following a professional playing career overseas and a season as a women's basketball intern at Stanford.
Jaco moved into an assistant coach role in July 2023, taking on recruiting responsibilities along with on- and off-court coaching and scouting. She continues to oversee USC player development, including film work and individual assessment and training as well as financial literacy and career development for the Women of Troy. Jaco also serves as a liaison to resources such as nutrition, mental performance and recovery.
Before closing down her USC playing career in 2017, Jaco picked up back-to-back All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention and earned Pac-12 All-Defensive Honorable Mention as a senior. She still stands as USC's most productive 3-point shooter, ranked No. 1 all-time with a 35.8 percent career effort from beyond the arc while moving up to No. 2 all-time with her 217 threes landed. A freshman on USC's 2014 Pac-12 Tournament Championship team, Jaco would close her USC career with 65 starts in 127 appearances as a Trojan.
Jaco played professionally for a season in Greece at the club Esperides, where she was the team's second leading scorer with 12.2 points per game in 2018-19.
A three-time Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention recipient, Jaco earned a master's degree in communication management at USC and received a bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in nonprofits, philanthropy and volunteerism.
A native of Compton, Calif., Jaco prepped at Windward School in Los Angeles. Jaco also served as a video coordinator for the WNBA's New York Liberty in 2020 and 2021.
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