Athletic Director Carla Williams announced Monday that Amaka “Mox” Agugua-Hamilton will be the next women’s basketball coach. This news comes recently after the termination of former coach Tina Thompson, who struggled to find success in her tenure, going 30-63 in her four years at Virginia.
Agugua-Hamilton has had extensive success as head coach of Missouri State. During her three years as coach of the Lady Bears, her teams went an impressive 74-15 in overall play while going 46-6 in the Missouri Valley conference. She also reached the NCAA tournament the last two years — a feat that the Cavaliers have not achieved since the 2017-18 season.
Over the past two years, Agugua-Hamilton’s teams have been able to find success in the NCAA tournament. Last year, the Lady Bears made a Sweet Sixteen run as a five seed before losing to one-seeded Stanford. In 2022, Missouri State went to the tournament as an 11 seed and won their first game in the play-in game. Unfortunately for the Lady Bears, their run came to an end versus Ohio State, losing 63-56.
“We are thrilled and very fortunate to have recruited Coach Mox to U.Va.,” Williams said. “She is a gifted teacher, a skilled tactician of the game and a person who cares deeply about her players and vice versa. Her teams play with tremendous tenacity and confidence.”
Agugua-Hamilton was on staff or an assistant coach for many teams after her playing career at Hofstra. She was a graduate assistant at VCU while completing her master’s degree and went on to coach at Indiana, Old Dominion and Michigan State before accepting her first head coaching job at Missouri State in 2019.
The hiring comes on the back of many frustrating years for Virginia women’s basketball, but Agugua-Hamilton seems excited for her task of rebuilding the program.
“I was immediately drawn in by Carla Williams’ vision for the women’s basketball program and the athletic department as a whole,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “I am certain I will thrive under her leadership. As a Virginia native, U.Va. is a dream come true for me. I could not be more excited.”
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