Graves Agrees To Extension With UO
04/06/17 | Women's Basketball, @GoDucksMoseley
After leading the women's basketball team to the Elite Eight, Kelly Graves agrees to a deal that will keep him in Eugene through 2023.
EUGENE, Ore. -- After watching the Oregon women's basketball team grow into one of the most competitive in the country, UO athletics wanted to ensure the program continues its success under the leadership of Kelly Graves.
Graves, who recently completed his third season with the Ducks, has agreed to a new six-year, $4.125 million contract with the university. The deal will keep Graves in Eugene through the 2022-23 season.
"The recent success in March Madness reiterated what we believed when we hired coach Graves — he's among the very best women's basketball coaches in the country," UO director of athletics Rob Mullens said. "Along with success on the court, he's providing a positive student-athlete experience while broadening the reach of his program in the community, and we're glad he'll be a Duck for at least another six years."
In just his third year at the helm of the program, Graves took a 2016-17 team picked in the preseason to finish seventh in the Pac-12 Conference and guided them all the way to an NCAA Tournament regional final. The Ducks capitalized on the strength of a top-five recruiting class nationally that produced three members of the starting lineup, finishing 23-14 and ranked No. 16 in the final coaches' poll after falling to Connecticut in the Elite Eight.
"We're thrilled with the trajectory of the program, and look forward to continued growth in the coming years," Graves said. "I really appreciate the faith from Rob Mullens and the rest of our administration to continue the progress we've made the last three years."
The Ducks beat Washington in Seattle to reach the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals, winning a game in the conference tournament for the first time in nine years, and winning twice in the same tournament for the first time in 15 years. By beating Duke on its home floor in the NCAA Tournament second round, Oregon reached the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in program history, and the Ducks did that one better by beating Maryland to reach the Elite Eight.
As a No. 10 seed, the Ducks became just the third double-digit seed to reach the Elite Eight of the women's NCAA Tournament. Graves coached one of the other two while at Gonzaga, prior to coming to Oregon.
"Experiencing March Madness with coach Graves and his staff made me even more excited for this team and the future of Oregon women's basketball," said UO senior women's administrator Lisa Peterson, who accompanied the team throughout the postseason. "We want to ensure continuity with the leadership of the program, and are committed to building a championship culture."
In three seasons as UO coach, Graves is 60-42. In his first season at the helm, Graves remade the team with a defense-first philosophy. A year later, the Ducks won 24 games — one shy of the school record — and reached the semifinals of the Women's National Invitation Tournament.
After signing a 2016 recruiting class that included national freshman of the year Sabrina Ionescu and her fellow starters Ruthy Hebard and Mallory McGwire, Graves and his staff last fall signed forward Satou Sabally and guard Aina Ayuso. They'll join a roster that returns 100 percent of the scoring and rebounding produced by the Ducks during their NCAA Tournament run.
