Kelly Lee Graves (born January 14, 1963) is the current head women's basketball coach at the University of Oregon. Previously, Graves was the head women's basketball coach at St. Mary's from 1997 to 2000, as well as Gonzaga University from 2000 to 2014. He was formerly an assistant coach for the Portland Pilots (1994–1997) and St. Mary Gaels, where he later got his first head coaching stint with the Gaels from 1997 to 2000. From the 2004–2005 season to the 2013–2014 season, he guided Gonzaga to ten consecutive West Coast Conference regular season titles. The 2007 team went 13–1 in conference play, and later won the WCC conference tournament. The school also received its first ever NCAA tournament appearance. He was named WCC co-coach of the year for his accomplishments. In 2005, 2010, and 2011, Gonzaga went undefeated in WCC regular season play.
Rankings
In 2005, Gonzaga was ranked 23rd in the nation, which was its highest ranking ever in the polls. At the end of the 2009–2010 season, the Zags was ranked 12th in the final poll, which was their highest ranking ever in the polls. At the end of the 2010–2011 season, the Zags was ranked 8th in the final poll, which is their highest ranking ever in the polls.
Regular season by years
St. Mary's Gaels (1997–2000)
Graves led the Gaels to a winning season in the first season of coaching with a 19–9, 9–4 in WCC play, tied for fourth in the conference. The next year, Graves led the Gaels to their first ever NCAA tournament with a 27–7 record and tied for 1st in the WCC regular season conference. In his final year as coach of the Gaels, Graves led the Gaels to a NIT tournament and lost in the second round.
Gonzaga Bulldogs (2000–2014)
In April 2000, Graves was named head coach for Gonzaga. In his 14 years as coach for the Bulldogs, Graves turned the program from a last-place finish in the WCC to a national contender. For the past 10 years, Gonzaga have won or co-shared the regular season WCC title and the last six out of seven years, Gonzaga had made it into the NCAA tournament, with the WCC first ever at-large bid in the 2011–2012 basketball season. On April 7, 2014, Oregon named Graves as their head coach. On April 14, 2014, assistant coach Lisa Mispley Fortier succeeded Graves as head coach.
Oregon Ducks (2014–present) On April 7, 2014, Oregon named Graves as their head coach, succeeding Paul Westhead, who was let go at the end of the 2013–14 season. The Ducks finished Graves's first season as head coach with a 13–17 record, 6–12 in the Pac-12, which was Graves' first losing season since his second year as head coach for the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the 2001–2002 season. In his second season, the team achieved a 24–11 record and made it to the WNIT semi-finals, where they lost to eventual champion South Dakota Coyotes 88–54. The next season, Graves led the Ducks to the Elite 8, where they lost to the Connecticut Huskies 90–52. The Ducks also reached the Elite 8 the next year, where they lost to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 84–74 to finish 33–5, the most wins in program history. The next year, the Ducks reached to the Final Four for the first time in program history and their season ended with a 72–67 loss to Baylor in the national semifinals to finish the season with a 33–5 record.
NCAA Tournament runs
2006–07 season and Gonzaga's first NCAA tournament appearance
In the 2006–2007 season in West Coast Conference play, Gonzaga guided to a 13–1 record in conference play. The lone loss was against Pepperdine at McCarthey Athletic Center. In the middle of the season, future All-American Courtney Vandersloot signed with the Zags. In the WCC tournament, Gonzaga defeated Portland, San Francisco, and LMU to go to their first ever NCAA tournament. In the NCAA tournament, Gonzaga played against Middle Tennessee State and they suffered an 85–46 loss at Stanford, where they finished their season with a 24–10 record.
2008–09 season and Gonzaga's first NCAA tournament victory
A couple of years later in the 2008–2009 season in WCC play, Gonzaga guided with a 12–2 record in conference play, with a loss to Portland at home and Pepperdine on the road. In the WCC tournament, Gonzaga defeated LMU and San Diego to go to their second NCAA tournament. In the 2009 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, Graves guided Gonzaga to its first ever NCAA tournament victory over Xavier 74–59 at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, WA. They would unfortunately lose to University of Pittsburgh 65–60 in the second round.