New Women’s Basketball Coach Aims to Keep Program Producing ‘Transformational’ Experiences

Lauren Gosselin, the new head coach of Princeton women’s basketball, realizes that she is succeeding one of the country’s most successful coaches, her friend and mentor Carla Berube, who departed for Northwestern in late March and was named the 2026 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year a week later.  

“I know I have big shoes to fill, but luckily Carla and I are the same size,” Gosselin quipped during a news conference at Jadwin Gym April 16, adding that Berube left a few pairs behind from her extensive sneaker collection.  

Kidding aside, Gosselin said she envisioned maintaining a championship program that is “transformational” in an era of college sports that is “increasingly transactional.”  

“We will play a brand of basketball that reflects our toughness, our discipline, and our togetherness while developing into confident, resilient, and empowered young women who are prepared for success long after graduation,” she said. “And we’ll do it all in a way that stays true to what makes Princeton unique. We’re not trying to be anyone else.” 

Gosselin, who first joined Berube as an assistant coach at Tufts, has been at Princeton for seven years, and her recruiting and player development helped build the Tigers’ current run of five straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Her basketball résumé includes two key parallels to Berube’s: Both were national champions in college (Gosselin at Division II Bentley, Berube at UConn), and both played for Hall of Fame coaches (Gosselin for 1,000-game-winner Barbara Stevens, Berube for Geno Auriemma).  

In the week between being named coach and her formal introduction to the news media, Gosselin received high praise from her predecessor, Berube, who called her “an exceptional basketball mind, a tireless worker, and a gifted teacher,” and her former coach, Stevens, who said she “was destined to lead.” On social media, alumni including current and former WNBA players Kaitlyn Chen ’23 and Bella Alarie ’20 chimed in with their own endorsements. 

Gosselin also had strong support from Princeton’s returning players, according to John Mack ’00, the director of athletics, who led the coaching search. “They talked about the interpersonal relationship — her communication style that really showed and demonstrated how much she cared [for] them,” Mack said. “But they also talked about the times when she had to be really tough, which is rare for student athletes to appreciate when a coach has to hold a line, has to hold them accountable.” 

Mack said he was not concerned that the uncertainty of a coaching change might send returning players to the transfer portal because the women’s basketball program has “an uncommon commitment to this university and an uncommon commitment to each other.” 

Since 2010, when head coach Courtney Banghart’s Tigers won the Ivy League championship and their first bid to the NCAA Tournament, Princeton has been a women’s basketball juggernaut. It has won or shared the Ivy regular season title 12 times, won the Ivy Madness tournament in six of the eight years it has been played, earned two at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament, and won first-round NCAA Tournament games in 2015, 2022, and 2023.  

“I’ve had a front row seat to what makes Princeton women’s basketball so successful,” Gosselin said. “And I’ve always believed that winning is a byproduct of doing things the right way with the right people.” 

Her next job will be choosing the right people to join her on Princeton’s bench. Assistant coach Lauren Dillon and director of basketball operations Lilly Paro are now part of Berube’s Northwestern staff. Gosselin announced at the news conference that returning assistant coach Jordan Edwards will be her recruiting coordinator. As for other additions, she said she will look for coaches who complement her strengths.  

Mack, Princeton’s athletic director since 2021, has tended to favor head coaching candidates who were assistants at Princeton, including Jenn Cook (women’s lacrosse), Jason Vigilante (men’s track and field), Joe Dubuque (wrestling), Courtney Kessel (women’s hockey, who coached at Princeton before a stint in the PWHL), and now Gosselin.  

“I think when you have someone who understands the place, it makes it easier,” Mack said. “There’s a shorter runway, in terms of getting adapted. …  I have incredible confidence in our administrative and support staff to help coaches grow in the ways that they need to. We have an incredible track record, over the last 10 or however many years, of promoting from within.”