PC’s Sharp leaves Blue Hose for App State
Former Presbyterian women’s head basketball coach Alaura Sharp, center, has taken the top job at Appalachian State.
Two weeks after leading the Presbyterian College women’s basketball team on a historic run to the NCAA Tournament, head coach Alaura Sharp has accepted the same position at Appalachian State.
Appalachian State has scheduled a press conference for 12:15 p.m. today (Friday) to introduce Sharp.
A national search for Presbyterian College’s next head coach is already under way, the school said.
“We feel so lucky to have worked with such an amazing coach,” said Presbyterian College Director of Athletics Dee Nichols. “We are so proud of what she brought to this program and to our community. We wish Alaura the best in her next venture.”
Former PC head coach Alaura Sharp during PC’s Big South championship celebration at Templeton Center.
Appalachian State announced on March 18 that former head coach Angel Elderkin resigned, citing personal reasons. In nine seasons with the Mountaineers, Elderkin accumulated a 134-170 record. Appalachian State went 17-15 overall and 9-9 in the Sun Belt Conference, earning a bid to the Women’s NIT this past season.
In her six seasons at the helm of Presbyterian’s women’s basketball program (2018-2024), she guided the Blue Hose from seven wins in her first season to a record breaking 2023-24 season which culminated in the program’s first Big South Tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Before serving the last six seasons as head coach at Presbyterian, Sharp was an assistant for two years each at Louisiana Tech and Southern Miss, where she helped her teams earn a postseason bid all four seasons. She was also a successful head coach at the junior college level at Garden City (Kan.) Community College and Lamar (Colo.) Community College.
“I’m honored to be named the head women’s basketball coach at App State,” Sharp said in a statement released by Appalachian State. “It is exciting to join an athletic department that has so much momentum and success. I look forward to building relationships with the players and growing this program. The Sun Belt is loaded with great coaches and talented players that I am excited to be a part of.
“I want to thank the Board of Trustees, Chancellor Everts, Doug Gillin and the rest of the administration for believing in me. I am excited to get to work.”
In addition to earning the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth and setting the wins record, Sharp’s 2023-24 Blue Hose team claimed the program’s first Big South Tournament title and became the first No. 5 seed to ever win the Big South women’s tournament when they trounced Radford 60-37 in the championship game.
Coaching at the smallest Division I school in the country, Sharp led Presbyterian to steady improvements throughout her first five seasons leading up to the breakout sixth campaign. Her 2020-21 team turned in the program’s first winning record (11-10) in five years, while her 2022-23 squad captured their best league finish (tied for fourth) in seven years.
Under Sharp’s tutelage, center Bryanna Brady became the program’s first two-time All-Big South honoree, while guard Tilda Sjökvist also earned All-Big South accolades in 2023-24. Sjökvist was named the 2024 Big South Tournament MVP, while Brady and Mara Neira joined her on the All-Tournament Team.
