Alaura Sharp is an American college basketball coach and is the current head coach of the

Appalachian State Mountaineers women's basketball The Appalachian State Mountaineers women's basketball team is the college basketball team at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. The Mountaineers compete in the Sun Belt Conference. They are currently a Division I member of the ...

team. She previously served as the head coach of the Presbyterian Blue Hose women's basketball team from 2018 to 2024. At Presbyterian, she led her team to their first ever NCAA Tournament and their first ever NCAA tournament win when they beat the

Sacred Heart Pioneers The Sacred Heart Pioneers are the 32 sports teams (14 men, 18 women) representing Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut in intercollegiate athletics. The Pioneers compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Metro Atlantic A ...

49–42 in a

First Four The First Four is a play-in round of the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments. It consists of two games contested between the four lowest-ranked teams in the field (usually the four lowest-ranked conference champions), an ...

matchup.

Coaching career

Sharp played basketball for the women's basketball team at

Southwest Minnesota State University Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) is a public university in Marshall, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. The university has an enrollment of approximately 8,700 students and e ...

. After graduation, she landed her first coaching job as an assistant coach at

Adams State University Adams State University is a public university in Alamosa, Colorado, United States. The university's Adams State Grizzlies athletic teams compete in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. History Adams State was founded in 1921 as a normal scho ...

. Following a two-year stint at Adams State, Sharp accepted a head coaching position at

Lamar Community College Lamar Community College (LCC) is a public community college in Lamar, Colorado. It was founded in 1937. In fall 2022, the college's enrollment was 668, making LCC the smallest member of the Colorado Community College System. History The col ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. At the conclusion of the 2008–2009 season, Sharp became the head coach of the women's basketball team at

Garden City Community College Garden City Community College (Garden City CC or GCCC) is a public community college in Garden City, Kansas. It was established in 1919 to provide a means for post-secondary education for area residents. The school initially shared facilities i ...

and remained in that position for four years. During that time she compiled an 83–45 record, defeated 11 nationally ranked teams, and turned the Broncbusters into a top contender each year in the tough Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and Region VI. In 2012–13, Sharp guided Garden City Community College to its best record in school history at 29-4 and a No. 13 ranking in the NJCAA polls. Following her success at the JuCo level, she was hired as an associate head coach at the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

. Following two years and two WNIT appearances with Southern Mississippi University in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, Sharp took another associate head coach and recruiting coordinator position with the

Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Lady Techsters, commonly abbreviated LA Tech and Dogs, refer to the sports teams of Louisiana Tech University, in Ruston, Louisiana. The teams compete in Division I of NCAA sports. Since 2013, Louisiana Tech has been ...

. During her time there, the team reached the

2017 Women's National Invitation Tournament The 2017 Women's National Invitation Tournament was an annual single-elimination tournament of 64 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2017 Women's NCAA tournament. The tournament committee announced the 64-team fie ...

. In 2018, Sharp accepted her first Division I head coach coaching job at

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

. From 2018 to 2024, Sharp won 76 games. During the 2023-2024 season, Sharp guided her team to a 2024 Big South Tournament championship. This secured the Presbyterian women's basketball team's first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. During a

matchup with the

, Sharpe led Presbyterian to their first-ever NCAA tournament victory. Following the play-in game, Presbyterian faced an undefeated

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fight ...

team led by

Dawn Staley Dawn Michelle Staley (born May 4, 1970) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team. A point guard, she played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers an ...

. Although Presbyterian lost by 52 points to South Carolina, Sharp praised Staley for making a pregame visit to talk with her team who was making their first NCAA tournament appearance. On April 5, 2024, Sharp was announced as the new head coach of the

team.

Head coaching record

NCAA DI

References

External links

Alaura Sharp
at ''sports-reference.com''
Alaura Sharp
at ''presby.edu''
Alaura Sharp
at ''smsumustangs.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, Alaura Living people People from Fredonia, Kansas American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Appalachian State Mountaineers women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Kansas Basketball players from Kansas Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball coaches Presbyterian Blue Hose women's basketball coaches Southern Miss Lady Eagles basketball coaches Southwest Minnesota State University athletes Year of birth missing (living people)