Amy Eagan has been named to the 2026 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award Watch List presented by Her Hoop Stats.
Named the 2024-25 OVC Coach of the Year, Eagan led the Lindenwood women's basketball program to the third-best win improvement in all of Division I, finishing the season with a 23-11 record, including a 16-4 mark inside conference play. The Lions made an appearance in the OVC Tournament Championship game.

Both of those marks for regular season and conference wins are the most in Lindenwood's NCAA Era. After the regular season the Lions went on to earn the programs first postseason berth at the Division I level, making it all the way to the Super 16 of the WNIT.

Eagan coached a pair of All-Conference players in Ellie Brueggemann and Brooke Coffey. Bruggemann was tabbed to the first team, while Coffey landed on the Second and All-Newcomer squads.

The Lions will open their season on Wednesday, November 5 against Harris-Stowe. Tip-off from Hyland Arena is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.

ABOUT THE AWARD
To be eligible for the award, coaches must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be "mid-major." The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Additionally, Oregon State and Washington State remain ineligible this season as membership in the Pac-12 Conference evolves. Interim head coaches are eligible, though total games coached were taken into consideration.

The 10-person midseason watch list will be announced in January. The five finalists for the award will be announced in March, with the winner being named around the Final Four. Coaches will be assessed across the entire season, including postseason play. Beyond on-court success, other factors such as recruiting, preseason expectations, injuries, and tactical coaching will also be weighed when assessing each candidate. Inclusion on previous watch lists is not a requirement to be considered for future watch lists.