Kentucky expected to bring back Matthew Mitchell as women's hoops coach after Kyra Elzy firing

Kentucky let go of head women’s basketball coach Kyra Elzy on Monday, and reports are that the Wildcats already have one familiar name in mind for the opening.

According to Lindsay Schnell of USA Today, Kentucky is expected to bring back former women’s head coach Matthew Mitchell, who retired abruptly just ahead of the 2020-21 season due to health complications.

Now, he could be back, per Schnell, who penned this short tweet in response to the Elzy news shortly after it happened: “UK expected to hire Matthew Mitchell again.”

Prior to his leave, Mitchell was a three-time SEC Coach of the Year who enjoyed a successful 13 years under his guide. His teams made eight straight NCAA Tournaments and would have made 10 overall during his tenure if not for the COVID cancellation.

But in November of 2020, just days before the season started, Mitchell announced his surprise retirement, which thrusted his top assistant, Elzy, into the position.

However, despite that development, Elzy still led Kentucky to a decent season on the court in 2020-21, in large part thanks to superstar Rhyne Howard, with the Wildcats finishing 18-9 and fifth in the very loaded SEC.

In 2021-22, the regular season was a big disappointment with Howard and other terrific veterans on the roster as UK limped to a .500 mark in SEC play. But they did make noise in the postseason, winning the SEC title by way of beating South Carolina with a 3-point shot in the final seconds.

It was all downhill after that, though. The team lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and then said goodbye to Howard, who became the first Lady Wildcat to be selected No. 1 overall in the WBNA Draft. She wasn’t the only loss, as players jumped ship from Kentucky by the boatload through the transfer portal.

Those losses set up a rough 2023 season where Kentucky finished 12-19 and won just two SEC games, finishing in 13th. There was another roster overhaul after that season as well, but to no avail, as the Wildcats were nearly as bad this season, winning four SEC games while racking up 20 total losses. Ultimately, those results just weren’t good enough to justify continuing to keep Kyra Elzy around.