Georgetown University announced Monday that women’s basketball head coach Tasha Butts passed away at 41 years old. Butts was diagnosed with advanced-stage breast cancer in 2021.
Georgetown named Butts the head coach in April after she spent 17 seasons as an assistant coach. She stepped away from her head coach duties last month to deal with her condition.
“I am heartbroken for Tasha’s family, friends, players, teammates and colleagues,” Lee Reed, Georgetown’s director of intercollegiate athletics, said in a statement. “When I met Tasha, I knew she was a winner on the court and an incredible person whose drive, passion, and determination was second to none. She exhibited these qualities both as a leader and in her fight against breast cancer. This is a difficult time for the entire Georgetown community, and we will come together to honor her memory.”
Butts played collegiately at the University of Tennessee. During her four seasons, the Volunteers won four SEC championships and reached four Final Fours under legendary coach Pat Summit. As a senior, Butts averaged 10.4 points and 5.4 rebounds.
Butts was a second-round draft pick of the Minnesota Lynx. After her professional career, she entered coaching in 2007. She was an assistant at Duquesne, UCLA, and LSU. In 2019, Butts was named the associate head coach at Georgia Tech.
Darnell Haney will serve as the interim head coach for the upcoming season that starts next month.
Tasha Butts is survived by her parents, Spencer Sr. and Evelyn, her brother Spencer Jr. and her nephew Marquis, an extended family and a mourning women’s basketball community that Butts impacted over the past 22 years.
