Erin Hughes will be the next head coach of the Ithaca College women’s basketball team, Ithaca College athletics announced May 4. Hughes comes to IC from Division III Trinity College, where she was an assistant coach for two seasons.
The hiring of Hughes comes just over a month after Dan Raymond’s retirement announcement and the departure of various assistant coaches within the program. At Trinity College, Hughes’ teams went 35-18 over two seasons in the strong New England Small College Athletic Conference.
Trinity College senior forward/center Hannah Boone, who played 16 games over two seasons with Hughes, said via text message to junior Devon Jarvis, ICTV and WICB radio broadcaster, that the Bombers are in good hands.
“Honestly, that is an absolute amazing hire for the program,” Boone stated. “She is not only an amazing coach but mentor, person, and leader. She may be young but she knows her stuff. She has been a huge staple in our program even as an assistant. I could honestly go on and on if you want me to — she’s amazing.”
Hughes takes over a historically dominant women’s basketball program that missed the Liberty League Tournament for the first time since joining the league in the 2017-18 season.
Hughes is the seventh new head coach to be hired by IC, dating back to Fall 2024. She will be just the fourth head coach of the women’s basketball program in 41 years and ninth of all-time, after Raymond’s 26-year legacy, Jenn Kroll’s single-season run in 1999-2000 and Christine Pritchard’s 14-year stint.
Hughes’ appointment will mark athletic director Aaron Bouyea’s third coaching choice after taking over for long-time athletic director Susan Bassett ’79 in May 2025. Hughes will join men’s basketball head coach Mike McSloy and football head coach Brandon Maguire as IC hires in the last 11 months of Bouyea’s administration.
Receiving her bachelor’s degree from Washington and Lee University in 2021, Hughes will be the most recent college graduate among head coaches at IC.
After a major shift in playstyle in the 2025-26 season, the Bombers struggled, but Hughes’ winning coaching résumé proves she could get them back on track.
The Bombers, who are graduating three players, have a bright future with returning contributors.
Sophomore guard Natalie Tucker will likely be the starting point guard, following a 25-game appearance season where she started 17 games. Sophomore guard Madison Gill and junior guard Tori Drevna are both returning and were the top two scorers on the team last season.
Her time with Trinity included a trip to the NCAA tournament in the 2024-25 season, where the team fell in the second round 83-45 to New York University, the eventual national champions, who were in the middle of a three–year, 91–game win streak.
Previous to her time at Trinity, Hughes was an assistant coach for three seasons at Washington and Lee University from the 2021-22 season through the 2023-24 season, following a four-year playing career at the school.
In Hughes’ three seasons with Washington and Lee, the team won two conference championships and went to the NCAA tournament each season. In the 2023-24 season, Hughes’ team went a dominant 29-3, making a run to the NCAA tournament quarterfinal, beating Vassar College, the year’s Liberty League champion, on the way.
Hughes will begin in the position May 26, as Raymond will be carrying out his responsibilities until the end of the 2025-26 academic year. Because Hughes was formerly an assistant coach, she will not bring a coaching staff with her. The next assistant coaches of the program have yet to be found.
