Barbara Stevens

A native of Southbridge, Massachusetts, Barbara Stevens spent her entire coaching career in the state where basketball was born. Her career spanned 44 seasons, and in the end touched all three divisions across NCAA basketball for women. Stevens was an analytical coach, subscribing to the philosophy that there is no substitute for hard work. Bardy, a nickname she earned coming up as a solid point guard in her younger days, coached at Bentley University for 34 seasons. Her run at the small private university included an undefeated season in which she led the Falcons to the 2014 NCAA Division II national championship, 33 trips to the postseason, and ten trips to the Fab Four. Along the way, she recorded more than 1,000 wins putting her in the same class with legends like Auriemma, Summitt, and Krzyzewski. Stevens earned Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year honors 16 times and five times the WBCA named her the Division II National Coach of the Year.