Clarksville, Ark.-University of the Ozarks Head Women's Basketball Coach Carl Ramsey was named the American Southwest Conference East Division Coach of the Year, it was announced Wednesday by ASC Media Relations Director Greg Weghorst.
Ramsey, who led the Lady Eagles to the playoffs in just his second season, posted the program’s first winning record in nearly a decade. Ramsey orchestrated a seven-game improvement from the previous season and the Lady Eagles qualified for the playoffs for the first time since the 2006-2007 season. Ozarks ended the year with a 14-12 overall mark, the first winning record since 2001-2002.
“I think this award is an indication of where the program is headed,” said Ozarks’ Athletic Director Jimmy Clark. “In two years, he has gotten them to the playoffs. I believe he will continue to build the program and do well. He has done an outstanding job. The other coaches in the conference have recognized his coaching ability. He is a great X’s and O’s coach and gets the most out of his kids.”
Ramsey’s team pulled out wins against ASC champion Howard Payne University November 29 and swept Mississippi College for the first time ever. The Lady Eagles finished conference play with a 10-10 record, good enough for fourth-place in the East Division. Ozarks started the season 6-0 and ended the year winning four of its last five to qualify for the post-season.
His team was the top three-point shooting team in the conference and ninth-best in NCAA III, hitting nearly eight per game and 36.1 percent of their attempts. His team also led the league in assists per game (17.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1). Four of his players earned Player of the Week honors during the season. He has had a combined five players earn All-Conference honors and two earn All-Freshmen Team honors the past two seasons. Three players have been voted to the prestigious Academic All-America Team, and 11 of his players have been on the All-Academic Team during his tenure at Ozarks. He was named Conference Coach of the Year at Lamar High School ten times during his 29-year career.
Topics: Athletics