‘A dream job for me’: Lauren Gosselin named 11th head coach of Princeton women’s basketball

For the third time in two decades, Princeton women’s basketball has a new head coach at its helm.

This time, they didn’t have to look far. 

Lauren Gosselin, who spent seven years on former head coach Carla Berube’s staff, including the last three as associate head coach, was named the program’s 11th head coach on April 8 following Berube’s departure to Northwestern. 

“The pride I have for this university and this team and the people that I’ve come in contact with in my time here, it’s a dream come true,” Gosselin told The Daily Princetonian. 

“I’m so excited about having the opportunity to lead this specific team, a veteran team that’s coming back, that’s accomplished a lot, but I think having coached them and [gotten] the behind the scenes of what what drives them and what motivates them, I think they’re hungry for more, and so I’m excited to hopefully lead them there.”

Princeton Director of Athletics John Mack ’00 announced Gosselin’s hire to the team on Wednesday afternoon.

The squad was excited for the big news today. 😁🧡🖤 pic.twitter.com/2eiD9rLyJR

— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) April 8, 2026

“It means everything to have their support. No coach is successful without the trust, respect, and love from their players,” Gosselin said. 

“I think just their genuine excitement for me and confidence in me to step into this role and lead them, it’s going to give me the confidence to do the best possible job that I can. Their reaction today definitely made it all worth it,” she continued. 

Gosselin takes over a Tiger program that has seen tremendous success under its two previous head coaches, who both left Princeton for power four programs. 

Courtney Banghart spent 14 years at Princeton, taking a program that had never been to the NCAA tournament to March Madness eight times in 10 years and earning national recognition as the 2015 Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year. Banghart departed in 2019 to take over at the University of North Carolina, where she still serves as head coach.

Berube then joined the Tigers and saw the success continue. Under her leadership, the Orange and Black won five Ivy League championships in six seasons, held an .835 winning percentage, and earned two NCAA tournament wins. Berube capped off her career in Old Nassau with the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award before leaving for Evanston.

The answer to who follows them, it turns out, was already in the building. 

“When the opportunity presented itself, it was just a no-brainer to put my name in the hat and go for it,” Gosselin said.

A graduate of Bentley University, Gosselin finished as the program’s all-time leading scorer before capping off her senior year with an undefeated 35–0 year, a DII national championship, and recognition as the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) NCAA Division II Player of the Year.

She then completed a postgraduate internship at the NCAA office, where she worked on a ticketing project to improve attendance at the NCAA Women’s Final Four. 

“It certainly was a fun project at a time when the NCAA was worried about putting butts in seats is what they would call it,” Gosselin said. 

While noting that the problem no longer exists, she said she is excited “to work with [the] marketing and external team” to continue engaging the greater Princeton community, students, and alumni. 

Following her internship, Gosselin earned a master’s degree in leadership and administration from Boston College while simultaneously serving as a graduate assistant. Her first coaching experience came in the 2018–19 season when she joined Berube’s staff at Tufts before following her to Princeton at the end of that year. 

The continuity she offers is perhaps her strongest immediate asset.

“The continuity piece is awesome,” Gosselin said. “It’s not learning a new vocabulary system and all that, but it’s just optimizing the things we already do so well, and hopefully taking it through to that next level.”

The Berube era was defined by the mantra of “Get Stops”, a defensive identity that led the Tigers to a 147–29 record.

While Gosselin has not thought of a mantra or hashtag for her tenure, she described herself as “more offensive-minded” than Berube, while remaining clear that defense remains a non-negotiable.

“I think the [Gosselin] era will be a team that is connected, is poised, is confident, [and] is player-led,” Gosselin said. “My job is to prepare them again Monday through Friday to compete on Saturday … and so I think you’ll see a team that is communicating with each other, connected, tight, bench energy.” 

“Those are all things that you saw with the successful teams we’ve had these past few years. And I hope to just build on it and empower them so that they again are a player-led group that knows what the task at hand entails,” she continued. 

Off the court, she emphasized the importance of continuing the culture created during Berube’s tenure.  

“There’s the gospel X’s and O’s piece, but if you don’t have that culture and that connectivity in your staff, that translates to your team,” she said, while also noting the importance of valuing the student-athlete experience.

“We’re gonna value the experience that our players are having, how we approach the day-to-day, the balance that we have, right? They’re student-athletes, not just athletes,” she said.

Among her first orders of business will be rounding out her staff. Gosselin confirmed that retaining current assistant coach Jordan Edward is “in the works” and that she hopes to “finalize that in the coming weeks.”

“I’m certainly going to make sure that my staff is representing the best, and I think Jordan does represent the very best,” she said. “She’s a young star in this profession.”

Gosselin — a first-time head coach — now steps into a role vacated by two coaches who built a dynasty. 

At her disposal will be the junior quadrant of guards Skye Belker and Ashley Chea, guard/forward Olivia Hutchertson, and forward Fadima Tall. Belker and Tall were named second-team All-Ivy in 2026, while Chea and Hutcherson received honorable mention honors. 

“The torch that’s being passed to me — I know what it represents,” Gosselin said. “I’m confident in what we have and where we’re going.”

Hayk Yengibaryan is a head News editor emeritus and senior Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Glendale, Calif. and typically covers breaking news and profiles. He can be reached at hy5161[at]princeton.edu.

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