Carrie Eighmey was announced as the 12th South Dakota women's basketball head coach on April 30, 2024.
Eighmey (
pronounced amy) has compiled a 285-151 record for a career win percentage of .654 in 14 years as a head coach. In 2025-26, Eighmey's Coyotes had the second-largest turnaround in Division I, going 26-10, placing third in the Summit League, and advancing to the WNIT Fab Four for the second time in program history.
The Coyotes' 2026 freshman class ranked No. 14 by 247Sports, including three nationally ranked prospects.
South Dakota brought in a top-40 nationally ranked transfer portal class in 2025-26 to lead that turnaround. That class earned six all-conference honors, including Angelina Robles (first team all-Summit League), Molly Joyce (second team all-Summit League, Newcomer of the Year, all-Newcomer team), Elise Turrubiates (Summit League honorable mention, all-Newcomer team). Robles was also named to the All-Tournament teams for the Summit League and WNIT.
South Dakota finished the 2025-26 season with the 15th best field goal percentage defense in Division I at 36.1%. They were also sixth in the NCAA in free throw percentage at 79.5% and 15th in turnovers per game at 12.6.
During her first season with the Coyotes, USD finished with an 11-20 record. She coached the Summit League Player of the Year and all-Defensive Team member Grace Larkins, who broke the South Dakota single game scoring record and led the Summit League in points, rebounds, assists, and minutes per game. Eighmey's team was very disciplined in her first year at the helm, leading the Summit League and ranking 4th in the NCAA in fewest fouls per game (12.4) and 10th in the NCAA in fewest turnovers per game (11.7), also the best in the conference.
She led UNK to three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a pair of NAIA national tournament appearances with Hastings College (Neb.). In all, she brings 20 years of coaching experience and has tallied 12 20+ win seasons on the bench and seven as a head coach. In her final season at Division II Nebraska-Kearney (2022-23), Eighmey was tabbed as a finalist for the WBCA’s Division II Coach of the Year.
She came to Vermillion after a one-year stint at the University of Idaho where she guided the Vandals to a 15-16 record with an 8-10 mark in Big Sky play and earning a bid to the Big Sky conference tournament.
Prior to her stop in Moscow, Idaho, Eighmey spent eight seasons at the University of Nebraska, Kearney where she won nearly 70 percent of her games with a 165-74 record (.690). She led the Lopers to 20-win seasons in five of her eight seasons, including three-straight trips to the NCAA Division II tournament. The 2020-21 season saw the Lopers advance to the Sweet 16 with a 22-3 overall record on the season. In her final season in Kearney, her squad won the MIAA’s regular season title with a 20-2 record, including a midseason 15-game win streak. She departed UNK as the Lopers’ second-winningest coach.
Eighmey landed her first head coaching position at her alma mater, Hastings College with her first season being the 2012-13 season. After just one season, and her final two years leading the Broncos, Eighmey posted 20-win seasons and guided Hastings to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national tournament with a trip to the quarterfinals (2013-14) and the semifinals (2014-15). The 2013-14 season also saw the Broncos take a share of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) regular season title. Eighmey left Hastings for Kearney with a 68-31 (.687) overall record.
Prior to her first head coaching position in 2012, Eighmey was the head assistant coach at Hastings for four seasons (2004-08) and held the same title at Fort Hays State (Kan.) from 2008-12. Both stops were under her collegiate coach Tony Hobson.
Eighmey (formerly Hofstetter) was an All-American point guard on the hardwood for Hastings, graduating in 2004. She led the Broncos to four-straight national tournament appearances and a pair of national titles in 2002 and 2003. She set school records for career assists and career steals at Hastings.
A native of Edgar, Nebraska, Eighmey is joined by her husband, Devin.
DIVISION I COACHING HIGHLIGHTS:
- 3 All-Conference Performers
- 1 Summit League Player of the Year (Grace Larkins, 2024-25)
- 1 all-Summit League First Team Performer (Grace Larkins, 2024-25)
- 1 All-Summit League Defensive Team (Grace Larkins, 2024-25)
- 1 All-Big Sky First Team Performer (Kennedy Johnson, 2023-24)
- 1 All-Big Sky Defensive Team Performer (Amalie Langer, 2023-24)
| Eighmey's Career Record: Year-by-Year |
| Year |
School |
Record (Ovr.) |
Record (Conf.) |
Conf. Finish |
Postseason |
| 2012-13 |
Hastings |
15-16 |
10-10 GPAC |
T6th |
|
| 2013-14 |
Hastings |
28-6 |
16-4 GPAC |
T1st^ |
NAIA Quarterfinals |
| 2014-15 |
Hastings |
25-9 |
15-5 GPAC |
3rd |
NAIA Semifinals |
| Hastings Totals (NAIA) |
68-31 (.687) |
41-19 (.683) |
^Co-Regular Season Champions |
| 2015-16 |
Nebraska-Kearney |
16-14 |
11-11 MIAA |
T6th |
|
| 2016-17 |
Nebraska-Kearney |
12-16 |
8-11 MIAA |
8th |
|
| 2017-18 |
Nebraska-Kearney |
21-7 |
13-6 MIAA |
T4th |
|
| 2018-19 |
Nebraska-Kearney |
15-14 |
8-11 MIAA |
T8th |
|
| 2019-20 |
Nebraska-Kearney |
26-6 |
14-5 MIAA |
3rd |
|
| 2020-21 |
Nebraska-Kearney |
22-3 |
19-3 MIAA |
T2nd^ |
NCAA DII Sweet 16 |
| 2021-22 |
Nebraska-Kearney |
24-8 |
13-5 MIAA |
3rd |
NCAA DII Second Round |
| 2022-23 |
Nebraska-Kearney |
28-5 |
20-2 MIAA |
1st |
NCAA DII First Round |
| Nebraska-Kearney Totals (Div. II) |
165-74 (.690) |
111-54 (.673) |
^MIAA Tourn. Champions |
| 2023-24 |
Idaho |
15-16 |
8-10 Big Sky |
6th |
|
| Idaho Totals |
15-16 (.484) |
8-10 (.444) |
|
| 2024-25 |
South Dakota |
11-20 |
5-11 SL |
7th |
|
| 2025-26 |
South Dakota |
26-10 |
12-4 SL |
3rd |
NAIA Fab Four |
| South Dakota Totals |
37-30 (.617) |
17-15 (.531) |
|
| CAREER TOTALS |
285-151 (.654) |
177-98 (.644) |
|
UPDATED APRIL 2025
