Kyra Elzy

{{Infobox college coach

| name = Kyra Elzy

| image = UNC vs Duke (Jan 2025) 35.jpg

| caption = Elzy with Duke in 2025

| current_title = Assistant coach

| current_team = Duke

| current_conference = ACC

| current_record =

| contract =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|8|17}}

| birth_place = La Grange, Kentucky U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| alma_mater =

| player_years1 = 1996–2001

| player_team1 = Tennessee

| player_positions = Guard

| coach_years1 = 2002–2004

| coach_team1 = Western Kentucky (assistant)

| coach_years2 = 2004–2008

| coach_team2 = Kansas (assistant)

| coach_years3 = 2008–2010

| coach_team3 = Kentucky (assistant)

| coach_years4 = 2010–2012

| coach_team4 = Kentucky (AHC)

| coach_years5 = 2012–2015

| coach_team5 = Tennessee (assistant)

| coach_years6 = 2015–2016

| coach_team6 = Tennessee (AHC)

| coach_years7 = 2016–2020

| coach_team7 = Kentucky (AHC)

| coach_years8 = 2020–2024

| coach_team8 = Kentucky

| coach_years9 = 2024–present

| coach_team9 = Duke (assistant)

| overall_record = {{Winning percentage|61|60|record=y}}

| tournament_record =

| championships = {{Plain list|

SEC Women's Basketball Tournament (2022)

ACC Women's Basketball Tournament (2025)

}}

| awards = Maggie Dixon Award winner (2021)

|medal_templates=

{{MedalCountry|{{bkw|USA}}}}

}}

Kyra Elzy (born August 17, 1978) is an American college basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team. She was previously the head coach at the University of Kentucky.

College career

Elzy attended Tennessee between 1996 and 2001, sitting out the 1998 – 99 season due to an injury. Under acclaimed coach Pat Summitt, she was a member of the teams that won the national championship in 1997 and 1998, as well as the team that finished as the national runner-up in 2000.{{Cite web|last=Hale|first=Jon|date=December 14, 2020|title=Kyra Elzy named full-time coach for Kentucky women's basketball team|url=https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/2020/12/14/kyra-elzy-named-full-time-kentucky-womens-basketball-coach/6538581002/|access-date=March 22, 2021|website=The Courier-Journal|language=en-US}} She was named the winner of the Holly Warlick defensive player of the year award in 1997.{{Cite web|title=Kyra Elzy - Women's Basketball Coach|url=https://ukathletics.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/kyra-elzy/3182|access-date=November 13, 2020|website=University of Kentucky Athletics|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=McKinney|first=Josh|date=April 27, 2016|title=Kyra Elzy returns home, named UK women's basketball associate head coach|url=https://www.wymt.com/content/sports/Kyra-Elzy-returns-home-named-UK-womens-basketball-associate-head-coach-377305101.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=November 13, 2020|website=WYMT|language=en}}

Coaching career

Elzy served as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky and Kansas before joining Matthew Mitchell's staff at Kentucky as an assistant ahead of the 2008 season. She then served as associate head coach from 2010-2012 before returning to her alma mater as part of Holly Warlick's initial staff at Tennessee.

In 2016, Elzy was re-hired by Mitchell as associate head coach at Kentucky before being named interim head coach following Mitchell's retirement in 2020.{{cite web |last=Crane|first=Evan|title=Matthew Mitchell Retires from Coaching; Kyra Elzy Named Interim Head Coach|url=https://ukathletics.com/news/2020/11/12/womens-basketball-matthew-mitchell-retires-from-coaching-kyra-elzy-named-interim-head-coach.aspx|website=UKAthletics.com |publisher=Kentucky Wildcats Athletics|accessdate= November 12, 2020 |date=November 12, 2020}} Following a 6-0 start to the 2020-21 season, Kentucky removed the interim tag from Elzy, making her permanent head coach.{{cite news |last1=Thompson |first1=Tyler |title=Kentucky names Kyra Elzy Women's Basketball head coach, removes interim tag |url=https://kentuckysportsradio.com/main/kentucky-names-kyra-elzy-womens-basketball-head-coach-removes-interim-tag/ |access-date=December 14, 2020 |publisher=Kentucky Sports Radio |date=December 14, 2020}}

On March 11, 2024, following back-to-back losing seasons and after failing to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in consecutive years, Kentucky announced that Elzy had been fired as head coach.{{cite news |title=Kyra Elzy, Kentucky Women's Basketball Head Coach, Relieved of Duties |url=https://ukathletics.com/news/2024/03/11/kyra-elzy-kentucky-womens-basketball-head-coach-relieved-of-duties/ |publisher=UKAtheltics.com |date=March 11, 2024}}

Elzy was hired to be an assistant coach on Kara Lawson's staff at Duke in the summer of 2024.{{cite web |title=Kyra Elzy |url=https://goduke.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/kyra-elzy/5021 |access-date=13 July 2024}}

Head coaching record

{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type=coach | conference= |postseason=}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead

|name=Kentucky Wildcats

|startyear=2020

|conference=Southeastern Conference

|endyear=2024

|}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 2020–21

| name = Kentucky

| overall = 18–9

| conference = 9–6

| confstanding = T–5th

| postseason = NCAA Second Round

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference tournament

| season = 2021–22

| name = Kentucky

| overall = 19–12

| conference = 8–8

| confstanding = 7th

| postseason = NCAA First Round

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 2022–23

| name = Kentucky

| overall = 12–19

| conference = 2–14

| confstanding = T–13th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 2023–24

| name = Kentucky

| overall = 12–20

| conference = 4–12

| confstanding = 12th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Kentucky

| overall = {{Winning percentage|61|60|record=y}}

| confrecord = {{Winning percentage|23|40|record=y}}

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record End

|overall = {{Winning percentage|61|60|record=y}}

}}