Finalist - 2009 Coaches of the Year powered by Critical Reload

Five years ago, Cori Close, a lifelong resident of California, moved cross-country to join the staff at Florida St. after she had spent nine seasons at UC-Santa Barbara , including three years as associate head coach. A demanding, detail-oriented and offensive-minded coach, she has proved to be the perfect compliment to head coach Semrau and her staff.

The easiest correlation between Close’s arrival and Florida State’s success has come in the form of an unprecedented run of five-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament and six postseason victories during that stretch. In the 21 years prior to her arrival, Florida State had only been to the Big Dance four times and won a pair of games.

As offensive coordinator, Close is responsible for developing the offensive schemes that best suit FSU’s personnel. Her ability to prepare information and disseminate it to the players has been a perfect recipe for success.

As a player, Close was a four-year starting point guard and captained Santa Barbara’s two NCAA Tournament teams in 1992 and 1993, leading both to the second round. The Milpitas, Calif. native was an All-Big West first team selection and the MVP of the conference tournament in 1993. The first player in UC-Santa Barbara history to record more than 1,000 points and 500 assists in a career, Close ranked among the top 10 in seven Gaucho career statistical categories.

On April 30, 2005, Close was inducted into the UCSB Athletics Hall of Fame.