Princeton Women’s Basketball Coach Carla Berube Departs for Northwestern

Carla Berube, whose six-season run as head coach of Princeton women’s basketball cemented the Tigers’ status as the Ivy League’s top team and one of the premier mid-major programs in the country, is leaving to become head coach at Northwestern, according to a March 25 announcement by the University.  

Princeton just completed its fifth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament under Berube’s leadership, losing to Oklahoma State in the opening round March 21. Her teams won five regular-season Ivy titles and four Ivy Madness titles. Her 2019-20 team also was on the precipice of an NCAA berth with a 26-1 record when the postseason was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the Tigers had a 147-29 record under Berube, whose winning percentage is the best in program history.  

“Everyone associated with Princeton Athletics is grateful for the special moments shared and the championships won in Jadwin and arenas across the country over the past seven years,” athletics director John Mack ’00 said in the release. “We wish Carla and her family well at Northwestern and know that Princeton will always hold a special place in their hearts.” The University announced that a nationwide search for Berube’s successor is underway.  

“It’s incredibly difficult to put into words what these past seven years at Princeton have meant to me and my family,” Berube said in the release. “This place, this community, and this program have impacted me more than words can express.” 

Berube, a national-champion player at UConn and successful Division-III coach at Tufts before coming to Princeton, led the Tigers to NCAA Tournament wins twice, in 2022 against Kentucky and in 2024 against North Carolina State. Her regular season record against major-conference teams has also been impressive: The 2025-26 team had two wins against Big Ten teams (Rutgers and Penn State), equaling the conference win total of Northwestern, which was 2-16 in the Big Ten last season.  

Princeton’s next coach will inherit a team that spent most of the season ranked in the AP top 25 and returns four starters — Skye Belker, Ashley Chea, Olivia Hutcherson, and Fadima Tall — all of whom will be seniors next fall. The situation was similar when Berube took the reins from Courtney Banghart, who left for North Carolina in 2019. The 2019-20 team brought back three starters, including Bella Alarie ’20, who would become the program’s career scoring leader.