O’Regan Selected to Kathy Delaney-Smith Coach of the Year Preseason Watch List

HOPEWELL, N.J. – James Madison women's basketball head coach Sean O'Regan has been named to the preseason watch list for the 2026 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award, as announced by Her Hoop Stats.

The award, named after the legendary former Harvard head coach, honors the most outstanding mid-major women's basketball head coach in the country. Twenty head coaches from 13 conferences headlined this year's preseason watch list, with O'Regan making his first appearance.

The 10-person midseason watch list will be announced in January. The five finalists for the award will be announced in March, with the winner being named around the Final Four. Coaches will be assessed across the entire season, including postseason play. Beyond on-court success, other factors such as recruiting, preseason expectations, injuries, and tactical coaching will also be weighed when assessing each candidate. Inclusion on previous watch lists is not a requirement to be considered for future watch lists.

JMU is coming off a 30-6 campaign in 2024-25, in which it finished as the Sun Belt Conference regular-season champions after going 18-0 in league play, while O'Regan was named the league's coach of the year. The Dukes reached the quarterfinal of the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament to cap off a single-season record for wins.

The Dukes return three starters from last season's squad, including reigning Sun Belt Player of the Year Peyton McDaniel. JMU also returns Preseason Second Team pick Ashanti Barnes and Zakiya Stephenson from last year's starting five. A total of six letterwinners return, as JMU was the overwhelming preseason pick to win the league.

JMU opens the 2025-26 season with a five-game homestand on Monday, Nov. 3 when it hosts Mid-American Conference favorite Kent State as part of the MAC-SBC Challenge.

Delaney-Smith led her teams to six NCAA Tournament appearances and nine WNIT appearances, plus three Ivy League titles before the NCAA Tournament awarded automatic bids to the Ivy League champion. She has coached nine Ivy League Player of the Year recipients, six Ivy League Rookie of the Year winners, and all 22 of Harvard's 1,000-point scorers in the program's NCAA Division I history. Delaney-Smith was inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1986, becoming the first woman to ever be inducted, with more than three decades of her career still ahead of her. She was also inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.

Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award Preseason Watch List
Bart Brooks, Belmont
Megan Griffith, Columbia
Tamika Williams-Jeter, Dayton
Carly Thibault-DuDonis, Fairfield
Vanessa Blair-Lewis, George Mason
Carrie Moore, Harvard
Sean O'Regan, James Madison
Addie Micir, Lehigh
Amy Eagan, Lindenwood
Tricia Binford, Montana State
Rechelle Turner, Murray State
Carla Berube, Princeton
Maria Marchesano, Purdue Fort Wayne
Tricia Fabbri, Quinnipiac
Aaron Roussel, Richmond (2025 Winner)
Cindy Griffin, Saint Joseph's
Aaron Johnston, South Dakota State
Lindy La Rocque, UNLV
Karen Aston, UTSA
Alisa Kresge, Vermont

Calendar