Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- flash_hoops@kent.edu
- Phone:
- 330-672-8438
The Fran Recchia era began on April 1, 2026, as the long-time assistant coach officially took over as the seventh head coach in Kent State women’s basketball history.
Recchia transitions to the head coaching seat after being the Golden Flashes’ lead assistant for the previous 10 seasons, including eight in the associate head coach position. Kent State totaled five postseason appearances and 179 victories, the second most among Mid-American Conference schools in the state of Ohio, during her decade in Kent. A MAC Tournament championship and return to the NCAA Tournament in 2024 highlight the program's successes, which also includes four WNIT appearances, two MAC East Division titles and four 20-win seasons.
The Flashes have beaten four Power 4 team during Recchia’s time on staff, including a historic victory over No. 19 UCLA as part of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Nov. 26, 2021. This marked the highest-ranked opponent beaten in program history. Kent State has also defeated Penn State and Missouri on neutral courts and went into Stillwater and handed Oklahoma State its first loss of the Jacie Hoyt era.
Recchia has worked with both the point guard and wing groups during her time on staff, resulting directly in Flashes players earning three all-conference, two all-freshman team and one all-defensive team honors. Eight players who she coached or recruited have gone on to play professionally overseas.
Charged with spearheading recruiting efforts upon arriving at Kent State, Recchia helped land two of the highest-touted signing classes in school history in 2018 and 2019. Both classes had two student-athletes earn spots on the MAC All-Freshman Team, while only one other school had multiple honorees over the two seasons. Her five years as recruiting coordinator yielded six MAC All-Freshman Team selections.
In her first season on staff in 2016-17, Recchia helped guide Kent State to one of biggest turnarounds in NCAA Division I women’s basketball, which concluded with a MAC East Division title and a WNIT postseason berth. The Golden Flashes compiled a 19-13 overall record, had the nation’s largest RPI improvement, jumping 222 spots from the previous season, and were the fifth most-improved record in the country. MAC Player of the Year Larissa Lurken enjoyed a breakout senior season under Recchia’s tutelage, setting program records for points (752) and scoring average (23.5 ppg) while making a NCAA Division I record 280 free throws. She was the only Division I player in the nation that averaged 20 points, six rebounds, two assists, two three-pointers, one steal and one blocked shot per game.
Before arriving in Kent, Recchia had spent five of the previous six seasons as an assistant coach at Radford. Upon returning in 2013, she served as the program’s recruiting coordinator and was responsible for wing player development, scouting, academics and compliance. Overall, she helped guide the Highlanders to one WNIT appearance and two Big South runner-up finishes while mentoring five All-Big South selections.
Recchia served as an assistant coach at Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tennessee during the 2012-13 season and was head coach at William Byrd High School in Vinton, Virginia from 2007-10.
Prior to that, she spent five years at Virginia Tech, playing guard from 2001-05 and then serving as a graduate assistant during the 2005-06 season. She helped the Hokies to four 20-win seasons and five postseason appearances, including four consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.
A 2004 graduate with a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Virginia Tech, Recchia earned a master’s degree in education in 2006.
