Deandra Schirmer has been on the job for a little more than a month as head coach of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team.
In preparation for her first season in the Division I ranks -- after five years leading Division II's Valdosta State University to Gulf South Conference success and NCAA tournament victories -- Schirmer has been working to put her own stamp on a program coming off its second straight Southern Conference tournament title and 20th overall.
Schirmer mentioned the most recent SoCon title while acknowledging her new team during her introductory news conference at UTC on April 5, making it clear she wants that tradition to continue to grow.
"That power C that they have on their chests stands for champions," Schirmer said of the school's logo. "And I'm here to tell you, we are primed and ready to win more championships under my direction here at UTC."
Here's a look at where things stand for Schirmer's Mocs as she works to build a program that can do just that.
New staff
Schirmer went with familiarity with her first coaching staff, tabbing Tianni Kelly as her associate head coach and Nicole Heyn, Mallory Odell and Alexis Uffmann as her other assistants. All four have coached with Schirmer at some point, with the latter three on the VSU staff during the Lady Blazers' 2022-23 season before Heyn and Odell took new jobs.
Kelly most recently led the women's basketball program at University of Charleston, a D-II school in West Virginia, and has an 85-32 record in four seasons as a head coach.
For the first time in program history, UTC will have an all-female staff.
"Blessed to have the best team around me," Schirmer tweeted on May 2. "This is the Dream Team!"
Five out
The Mocs will be replacing a lot from last season's team, including three starters and the team's top reserve off the bench.
Standout guard Jada Guinn, a prolific scorer in her lone season as a graduate transfer at UTC while also becoming the SoCon tournament MVP, was a loss the Mocs knew they would have to deal with. However, three other players recently made the decision to follow former UTC head coach Shawn Poppie by transferring to Atlantic Coast Conference program Clemson: starting point guard Addie Porter, 2023 league tourney MVP and two-time All-SoCon forward Raven Thompson, and standout 3-point shooter Hannah Kohn, who received league all-freshman recognition this year.
In addition, guard Eleecia Carter -- who was injured for more than half of this past season and ultimately redshirted in her first year of college -- transferred to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Schirmer must replace players responsible for per-game averages of 46.3 points and 20.7 rebounds last season.
Four in
Schirmer has again leaned on familiarity in terms of her portal additions to date, with her first two being 5-foot-9 guard Taylor Searcey and 5-11 forward Kalifa Ford, both from Valdosta State. Ford was a Division II All-American this past season, while Searcey was named to the All-GSC second team her past two years.
Earlier this week, UTC announced the addition of North Alabama transfer Jade Moore, who started 43 games in her two seasons at the school and knock down 148 3-pointers.
The Mocs also got their first high school signee for next season in Masa Buzic, a 5-10 guard from Serbia.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.