Dean Walsh Position: Head Coach Experience: 7th Year

Coach Dean Walsh begins his fourteenth season as a head coach and his nineteenth overall. He has spent sixteen seasons at the collegiate level and three at the high school level. In his sixteen seasons at the collegiate level he has been part of 341 wins. January 18, 2006 against archrival Tusculum College he reached his 200th win and has compiled a 243-129 (.653) record. He has made nine national tournament appearances and five "Sweet 16" appearances. "I have been very fortunate and blessed to have been given a chance at a very early age to work in the profession that I love and respect dearly," stated Walsh.

He has a reputation of being a top-notch recruiter, a tireless and relentless worker, energetic and passionate about the game, and a builder of national tournament caliber programs.

"Dean has proven to be a winner everywhere he has been," Carson-Newman athletic director David Barger said. "His balance and appreciation for academics as well as athletics makes him a good fit for Carson-Newman. He is a solid Christian gentleman who can carry on the legacy of Lady Eagle basketball."

In the 2004-05 season Coach Walsh's squad compiled a school record 25 wins to only 8 losses and won the school's first Food Lion/SAC Tournament title. The Lady Eagle's finished #18 in the nation, a first for the program. His team also made the programs first ever "Sweet 16" appearance.

The 2005-06 season saw his squad receive its first ever pre-season national ranking at #16 in the nation. His squad that year would also achieve their highest national ranking ever at #12 in the country.

The 2006-07 season saw Coach Walsh's troops received a #20 national ranking during the season and finished with a 21-10 record and a national tournament appearance, in which they were the youngest team in the tournament.

Coach Walsh has also coached in the summer for the USA Athletes International organization. He has had the pleasure to coach teams in Australia, Barbados, Belgium, Germany, Holland, and Italy winning four championships and compiling an amazing 33-1(.971) record.

In just three short seasons at Maryville College, Walsh built a national powerhouse. He compiled a 19-6 record and a #8 regional ranking in his first season, taking over a team that finished 12-13 the previous season. His 1999-2000 team went 20-6, was ranked fourth in the South Region, ranked nationally in six different statistical categories and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Scots enjoyed another great year in 2000-01 as they compiled a 22-5 record, #3 South Region ranking, and a #16 national ranking. His team was nationally ranked in eight statistic categories.

Walsh served as the head women's basketball coach at Hiwassee College in Madisonville, Tennessee from 1994-1997. This was Coach Walsh's first head coaching position. Walsh took a program that had only won four games the previous two years combined to a NJCAA "Sweet 16" team in only two seasons. Hiwassee was 27-6 in 1996 and advanced to the "Sweet 16" of the NJCAA National Tournament in Tyler, Texas. He took his team back to Tyler the following season by going 30-4, a school record for victories. Hiwassee was ranked in the nations top 10 in scoring, team field goal percentage, and team defense. They would also finish a school best ranking of #9 in the country. Walsh's 66-23 record is one of the best in the history of Hiwassee College women's basketball.

Coach Walsh was named The National Junior College Athletic Association Regional Coach of the Year in 1996 and 1997, the Tennessee Junior College Coach of the Year in 1997 and was a finalist for the Women's Basketball Coached Association District IX Coach of the Year in 1997. Walsh was selected as the Great South Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2000 and was a finalist for District Coach of the Year. He was garnered South Atlantic Conference Co-Coach of the Year and Division II South Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2006 which made him one of eight finalists for Division II National Coach of the Year.

Walsh, a nationally known women's basketball coach, has served on many national and WBCA committees. He is currently the South Atlantic Regional Ranking Selection Committee Chairman and is also currently serving on the WBCA Top 25 Selection Committee. He has been a member of the NCAA Division II Conference Captains Legislative Committee, and the NCAA Division III Conference Captains Legislative Committee. He is also the Director of Women's Basketball Operations for USA Athletes International.

He received his Bachelor of Arts from Maryville College in 1989 where he played basketball for four years. Walsh currently holds two school records at Maryville for field goal percentage in a season (.658) and field goal percentage in a career (.601).

Coach Walsh resides in Jefferson City with his wife Courtney and their two children Courtlyn-Olivia and Bayden-Henry. The Walsh family is members of Mount Lebanon Baptist Church in Maryville.