With one year left on her contract and no extension in sight, Adia Barnes could be on her way out of Arizona.
Barnes is responsible for the resurrection of Arizona’s basketball, but she could be on the move with one year left on her contract. Since Arizona won the WNIT in 2019, Barnes has been in the mix for head coaching jobs in both college and the WNBA every year.
She became a household name after taking an Arizona program that had just one postseason appearance since 2005 and turning it around in her third year. The Arizona Wildcats have made the NCAA tournament four times during her tenure as head coach, with Arizona coming up as runner-up in 2021.
Is Adia Barnes Heading to SMU?
SMU appointed a new athletic director, and one of her first decisions was to fire head coach Toyelle Wilson after the program ended the season with a 14-game losing streak. Reports have started coming out about SMU potentially hiring Barnes.
Barnes has always made it clear that she needed resources to compete at the level she wanted to, something that Arizona has been lacking for the past few years. Athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois doesn’t seem too eager to discuss a contract extension with Barnes, who has one year left.
BREAKING: SMU is likely to hire Arizona’s Adia Barnes as their next head women’s basketball coach, multiple sources told @On3sports.
READ: https://t.co/g9WQFO9uP0 pic.twitter.com/lAcuhQ1NOf
— Talia Goodman (@TaliaGoodmanWBB) April 5, 2025
SMU’s new athletic director seems willing to dedicate resources to the women’s basketball program, and that would be ideal for Barnes, but nothing is official yet, and it remains to be seen if she would go to Texas.
Barnes has a $300,000 buyout in her contract if she leaves before April 30.
Barnes was named head women’s basketball coach at the University of Arizona in 2016. It took her three years before things kicked off at Arizona, they started the season 12-1.
Arizona entered the conference tournament as the No. 8 seed, beating USC to begin tournament play. The Wildcats finished the year 18–13 and were selected for the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
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Barnes took Arizona to the final of the WNIT in 2019, where they beat Northwestern. In 2021, Arizona reached their first final four appearance when they beat Indiana in the Elite 8. They then beat UConn to advance to the program’s first ever championship game. They ultimately lost the championship game to the Stanford Cardinal.
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