Former WNBA standout and Olympic gold medalist DeLisha Milton-Jones is leaving as Pepperdine's women's basketball head coach to become an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Syracuse.
"DeLisha is among the most decorated women's basketball players to ever play the game," Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman said in a statement. "She's an amazing communicator and has head-coaching experience at the Division I level. We are very fortunate to have her join our staff."
Milton-Jones was a collegiate standout at Florida, where she won the Wade Trophy for the best Division I women's basketball player in 1997. She then played professionally for two seasons in the ABL, before joining the WNBA in 1999. In 17 seasons in the WNBA, 11 with the Los Angeles Sparks, she won two league titles and averaged 11.2 points and 5.2 rebounds.
Milton-Jones also had an extensive overseas playing career, and she won gold medals with the U.S. team in two Olympics (2000 and 2008) and two World Cup competitions (1998 and 2002).
After retiring from playing in 2016, she became an assistant at Pepperdine, then took over as head coach in 2017.
This past season, the Waves went 22-12 overall and tied for third in the West Coast Conference at 12-6. Pepperdine advanced to the round of 16 of the WNIT. Overall, Milton-Jones was 32-32 at Pepperdine, which now begins the search for a new coach.
"DeLisha has done a remarkable job in rebuilding our program, as evidenced by our most recent 22-win season," Pepperdine athletic director Steve Potts said. "We wish the best for her at Syracuse."