In his first season as the head coach of the Mocs women’s basketball team, Shawn Poppie took his team to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Mocs beat Furman, ETSU and Wofford to claim Chattanooga’s 19
th Southern Conference Tournament title.
Poppie guided the Mocs to a second place finish in the Southern Conference regular season, just one game out of first and tied with ETSU for second. The Mocs earned the No. 2 seed in the SoCon Tournament and beat Furman (63-52) in the quarterfinal, ETSU (69-40) in the semifinal then took down top-seeded Wofford 63-53 in the final.
For his efforts during the 2022-23 season, Poppie was awarded with the 2023 Spalding® Maggie Dixon NCAA Division I Rookie Coach of the Year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
Graduate transfer Yazz Wazeerud-Din led Chattanooga in scoring and was third in the league and named to the SoCon All-Conference First Team. Freshman Raven Thompson was named to the All-Conference Second Team and selected SoCon Freshman of the Year, just the fifth-ever selection for Chattanooga.
In the SoCon Tournament, the Mocs took home the awards. Thompson became Chattanooga’s first freshman to be named the SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player. She was joined on the First Team by Wazeerud-Din and Addie Grace Porter. Abbey Cornelius was named to the SoCon All-Tournament Second Team and Audrey Canter received the Pinnacle Award as the student-athlete on the championship team with the highest GPA.
Shawn Poppie is the seventh head coach of the Mocs. He led Chattanooga to its 22
nd 20-win season in the 49
th year of women’s basketball at UTC.
He came to Chattanooga from Virginia Tech where he served as an assistant coach on Kenny Brooks’ staff starting in 2016. Prior to the 2020-21 season, he was elevated to associate head coach and has had a hand in six consecutive winning seasons while returning the
Hokies to the NCAA Tournament after a 15-year hiatus.
The former Limestone College point guard directed the backcourt at Virginia Tech, serving as defensive coordinator for the last two seasons. Under his tutelage, guard Aisha Sheppard and Taylor Emery earned All-ACC First Team honors and Elizabeth
Kitley was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team. She was also named the 2022 ACC Player of the Year.
Six of
Poppie’s former players rank among the school’s top 3-point shooters including all-time leader Sheppard. The No. 2 Virginia Tech all-time ace from beyond the arc, Vanessa
Panousis is one of four of his former players currently in the pros that include Emery, Sami Hill and
Taja Cole. Emery owns the top two single-season scoring marks including the all-time best at 1,313 points.
While at Virginia Tech, the
Hokies set records for ACC win totals, wins over ranked opponents and
Kitley became their first-ever athlete on the AP All-America Team. Additionally, nine different players have earned All-ACC recognition.
Prior to Virginia Tech, Poppie was an assistant coach for the Furman Paladins for three seasons and was named Associate Head Coach for Jackie Carson after his third year. During his time, he helped the Paladins to a pair of trips to the postseason. In 2016, Furman advanced to the semifinals of the SoCon tournament before falling to Mercer.
Prior to his stint at Furman, Poppie spent two seasons at USC Upstate.
Poppie began his career as an assistant coach at Limestone College where he served as recruiting coordinator. During his tenure, he recruited and signed three all-conference performers and helped the Saints to a 25-7 record, advancing to the NCAA Division II National Tournament in 2012.
A 2007 graduate of Limestone, Poppie was a two-time Carolinas-Virginia Athletic All-Conference player. He graduated as the school’s all-time leader in assists (602) and steals (168) and finished third on the scoring list (1,246). Poppie earned his bachelor’s degree in sports management. He was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2017.
The Crescent City, Illinois native was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in the summer of 2019. He and his wife Regina have three sons Kai,
Cayden and Cameron.
Poppie Quick Facts
Born: April 7, 1985
Hometown: Crescent City, Illinois
Alma Mater: Limestone College, 2007
Married: wife Regina
Children: Sons Kai, Cayden and Cameron
| Year |
Team |
Overall |
SoCon |
Finish |
SoCon Tournament |
Postseason |
| 2022-23 |
Chattanooga |
20-13 |
9-5 |
T2nd |
3-0 |
NCAA First Round |
