Not long ago, Washington State lost its volleyball coach, its basketball coach and its athletic director in the wake of the collapse of the Pac-12 Conference.

A coach who has stayed? Kamie Ethridge, the women’s basketball coach for six years.

“I want to be here,” Ethridge said in May. “I don’t think there are many better jobs than this. You know, the fact that we can retain most of our athletes and they don’t go through the portal, the fact that we can continue to successfully recruit new players. I really believe I’m in a situation where I don’t want to leave, and I feel very supported here.”

The former national coach of the year and member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame has reached the postseason in each of her last four seasons, including three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. She led the Cougars to the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament championship in Las Vegas, WSU’s first women’s conference tournament championship in school history.

Ethridge recruited program legends Charlisse Leger-Walker and Bella Murekatete, and her current roster includes an All-Pac-12 freshman selection in each of the last two years – Astera Tuhina in 2023 and Eleonora Villa in 2024.

It’s almost certain that WSU fans were prepared to lose Ethridge after the Cougars reached the semifinals of the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament in the 2023–24 season despite Leger-Walker’s season-ending knee injury.

Instead, Ethridge signed a one-year extension, her third such contract in a row. Her contract runs through the 2029-30 season.

Ethridge said former WSU athletic director Pat Chun, who left Pullman to take the helm at rival University of Washington in the same state, painted a picture of how successful WSU’s women’s basketball team could be.

“Believe me, our resources were 12 of 12. We were 12th of 12, you know, compared to everybody else in the league, but you don’t have to be first in the league in resources. You don’t have to be first in facilities. You have to be first in people,” Ethridge said. “And I thought that (Chun) was an example of hiring great people and giving us the support that we needed, you know, and being happy with who we are.

“We don’t have to apologize for being in Washington state and living in Pullman. I love this place. I love the type of athletes we can attract here. And I think (Chun’s) vision really spoke to me.”

Ethridge said new AD Anne McCoy, who has worked at WSU for over 20 years, fits that people-first mold perfectly.

Farewell to a legend

While the Cougars coach stays, WSU loses someone who, according to Ethridge, “changed the program forever.”

Charlisse Leger-Walker, the third-leading scorer in program history, announced her transfer to UCLA in May.

Ethridge said there’s no doubt Leger-Walker would have turned pro if she hadn’t suffered a season-ending ACL tear on Jan. 28. The injury left her with three options: turn pro anyway, return to WSU or enter the transfer portal.

“She grew up with a group of players – we were so young when they all came in, and now we’re really old, and they’re all leaving, you know, their best friends are leaving, and I just think sometimes in life you come to the end of a road and you know you don’t feel like, ‘Oh, I have to start over in the same place again,'” Ethridge said.

Although Leger-Walker’s departure leaves a hole on the roster as large as that of a program legend, Ethridge is more than ready to replace her with a strong international recruiting class and the continued development of program leaders Tara Wallack, Astera Tuhina and Eleonora Villa.

“We literally have 13 players that can all compete for a starting spot. I mean, we’re really strong. I think we’re really versatile. I think we’re probably as talented as we’ve ever been in a lot of ways, but right now it’s raw talent. You know there’s going to be some teething issues,” said associate head coach Laurie Kohen.

A unique connection

The program has been very successful in recruiting and retaining student-athletes because they don’t over-promise up front, Ethridge said. WSU doesn’t have a donor base with the same name, image and likeness as other schools.

“If they want money, they probably won’t choose us,” Ethridge said.

“That’s one of the reasons why I want to stay here: If I can carry on as I have been, not losing players and competing at a high level without slipping into the world of, well, NIL, then I would like to stay here and see if we can achieve something special here.”

Although organizations like the Cougar Collective, a coalition of WSU alumni dedicated to supporting student-athletes with NIL opportunities, do their best, small crowds at WSU basketball games have become the norm.

Ethridge said she wants the women’s basketball team to win more and at the right time to ignite a similar flame as the men’s team.

Kyle Smith’s Cougars drew just 3,000 fans in mid-February before climbing into the rankings by beating Arizona in Tucson and hosting Bronny James and USC. That confluence of factors resulted in three straight 8,000-plus crowds, and WSU’s final regular-season game drew 9,000.

Ethridge said the Cougs need to get out into the community and find lots of friends to go to games, from elementary school kids and their families to ZZU CRU, WSU’s organized student group.

“We need ZZU CRU to really support us,” Ethridge said. “Usually it starts off well, but we haven’t finished very well. I think we have a tough sport because sometimes there are four games a week. And then the next week there are two games and you just want to take a break the next week. So you don’t go to those games and know we’re competing for the same person, right?”

The next step

Each player said in their final interview with Ethridge at the end of the season that they viewed participating in the NCAA tournament as the team’s top goal.

The WSU women’s basketball team will compete as an affiliate member of the West Coast Conference for the next two seasons. The Cougs will play a full conference schedule along with the other remaining Pac-12 school, Oregon State, guaranteeing them quality matchups with reigning tournament teams Gonzaga, Portland and OSU.

Ethridge said she is confident the WSU women’s basketball team can succeed at even higher levels in the WCC and nationally because of the people-centered nature of her program.

From the nutritionist to the academic support staff to the coaches and their coaching staff, the Cougs offer a first-class experience, Ethridge said.

“These are the things that are going to impact your life every day,” Ethridge said. “So we want to make those guys elite, and if we can do that, I think we can continue to be successful in recruiting and attracting great talent that chooses us and stays here with us for four years.”