Phone: 352-375-4683, ext. 5594
Email: kellyfi@gators.ufl.edu
Twitter: @kraefin

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Was elevated to Head Coach in Feb. 2022
Entering her fifth season as the Gators' head coach
Has led UF to a postseason appearance every year under her leadership
Named the Spalding Maggie Dixon Rookie Coach of the Year by the WBCA in 2022
Honored as USA Today Sports Network 2022 SEC Coach of the Year
Semifinalist for the 2022 Naismith Coach of the Year award
Signed the 10th-ranked recruiting class in the nation for 2024
Added WNBA All-Star and two-time SEC Player of the Year, Rhyne Howard to the coaching staff in 2023
Landed the nation's 7th-ranked recruit for the class of 2024, marking the highest-ranked recruit in program history
Developed both Kiki Smith and Leilani Correa to be drafted into the WNBA
Currently holds a winning record of 75-60 (56%) at Florida
Finley's all-time SEC record stands at 27-40 entering the 2025-26 season
Under her guidance, Leilani Correa was named the SEC Sixth Woman of the Year in 2024
Signed three McDonald's All-American players in two years
Took the Gators to their first WBIT semifinals in program history in 2025

Coach Finley will enter her fifth season as Head Coach of the Florida Gators in 2025-26. In Finley's most recent season, she led UF to the 2025 WBIT semifinals, marking the program's first postseason semifinals appearance since 2013. With the postseason run into the WBIT, Coach Finley has guided Florida to a postseason appearance for five consecutive seasons.

In 2024, Finley led the women’s basketball program to an impressive postseason run at the SEC Tournament. The Gators advanced to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament with back-to-back wins in rounds one and two. Following the SEC Tournament, the Gators earned the No. 3 seed in the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament.

Head Coach Finley once again exercised her elite recruiting abilities during the 2023-24 season, adding two McDonald's All-Americans, Me’Arah O’Neal, and Liv McGill to the 2024-25 roster. Kylee Kitts was also a highly sought-after recruit and committed to the Gators as the 25th-ranked recruit in the 2025 class but will reclassify to join the Gators in the 2024-25 season. Finley's 2024 recruiting class was ranked in the top 10 according to ESPN and with the signing of No. 7 Liv McGill, Finley recruited the highest-ranked recruit in program history.

Finley’s first year as Head Coach was highlighted by her being named the Spalding Maggie Dixon Rookie Coach of the Year by the WBCA. Finley was also honored as USA Today Sports Network SEC Coach of the Year and a semifinalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year award. These recognitions came after she led the Gators to a historic 2021-22 campaign where the team went 21-11, the first 20-win season since 2015-16, while also earning an at-large bid for the first time in over five years. Under her leadership in the 2021-22 season, the Gators defeated five ranked opponents for the first time since the 2005-06 season, including five nationally ranked opponents in the SEC for the first time since 2004. Finley also played a role in the development of All-SEC guard and Connecticut Sun draftee, Kiara Smith. This past spring, Leilani Correa was named the SEC Sixth Woman of the Year and was drafted to the Indiana Fever.

2017 was Kelly Rae’s first year at Florida where she served as Assistant Coach for two seasons (2017-2019) before being promoted to Associate Head Coach in May of 2019, and ultimately filling the role as Interim Head Coach (July 2021). During this time Finley specialized in the development of guard players and significantly contributed to recruiting efforts. In 2020-21, Finley helped the Gators secure their first postseason victory since 2014 as Florida defeated Charlotte in the opening round of the WNIT. Under Finley’s watch, several of Florida’s guards made tremendous strides including point guard Kiki Smith, who became the first player in program history to lead her team in scoring (490), rebounding (173), and assists (95) in a single season. Finley’s efforts helped the Gators improve their season averages in scoring, scoring margin, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free throw percentage, rebounds, and turnovers per game when comparing 2020-21 to 2019-20.

Prior to coming to Gainesville, Coach Finley served as the assistant coach at Arizona, specializing in recruitment where she signed the 34th-ranked recruiting class in the country that included the Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year (2017), the Washington 4A State Player of the Year (2017) and the Illinois Courier News Player of the year (2017). Finley also spent four years at the University of Colorado, signing the top 25 recruiting class helping her rank as high as No. 11 in the Associated Press poll and No. 14 in the USA Today Sports Coaches poll (2013-2014).

Finley’s first stop in collegiate basketball was at Harvard where she spent three years as an assistant coach. At Harvard, Finley heavily impacted the recruiting scene and played a major role in signing the Ivy League's first-ever Women's McDonald’s All-American. Coach Finley also aided in the recruitment of the Ivy League's second Olympian. At Harvard, Coach Kelly was also trusted in the role of director of post-player development. In that role, she led 12 All-Ivy selections, five of whom continued their careers in professional basketball. Her guidance at Harvard resulted in three postseason appearances (WNIT, 2010, 2011, 2012) and hyperactive fundraising efforts for locker room and equipment upgrades.

Personally, Finley graduated from Colorado State University in 2008 with her bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies. She was a two-year letter winner for the Rams and was a Mountain West Conference Scholar-Athlete Award winner in 2008. Finley began her collegiate career at Northwestern University where she lettered in 2004-05.

Quoting Kelly Rae Finley:
"I am committed to our student-athletes and will continue to do all I can to help them become the best they can be on and off the court. I'm grateful to be entrusted with this role and will bring my best every day to help us be successful together as a team."

“The University of Florida is an elite athletic and academic institution where we have the opportunity to compete for and win championships. That’s everything you want when you look for a program to build and be a part of.”

#	Full Name	Pos.	Ht.	Year	Hometown / High School	Major
1	Kiara Smith	G	5' 10''	R-Sr.	District Heights, Md. / Forestville Military Academy
2	Emily Sullivan	F	6' 4''	Gr.	Evansville, Ind. / Reitz Memorial
3	Lavender Briggs	G	6' 1''	So.	Provo, Utah / Provo High School
10	Danielle Rainey	G	5' 10''	R-Sr.	Washington, D.C. / Vista Ridge	Sociology
11	Emanuely de Oliveira	F	5' 10''	Jr.	Criciúma, Brazil / Wasatch Academy
12	Jordyn Merritt	F	6' 3''	Fr.	Plano, Texas / Plano
13	Floor Toonders	F	6' 4''	Fr.	Wageningen, Netherlands / Calandlyceum Amsterdam
14	Kristina Moore	G	6' 1''	Jr.	Sydney, Australia / Abbotsleigh School
15	Nina Rickards	G	5' 9''	So.	Queens, New York / Christ the King Regional High School
22	Brynn Farrell	G	6' 0''	Fr.	Ortley Beach, N.J. / St. Rose
25	Faith Dut	F	6' 4''	So.	Vancouver, British Columbia / Semiamhoo Secondary School
32	Cydnee Kinslow	F	6' 2''	Gr.	Oakley, Calif. / Freedom

Coaching Staff
Image	Name	Title	Email	Phone Number
	Cam Newbauer	Head Coach	CamN@gators.ufl.edu	5506
	Kelly Rae Finley	Associate Head Coach	KellyFi@gators.ufl.edu	5594
	Erika Lang-Montgomery	Assistant Coach	ErikaL@gators.ufl.edu	6765
	Julian Assibey	Assistant Coach	JulianA@gators.ufl.edu	5560
	Serena Lamar	Director of Basketball Operations	SerenaL@gators.ufl.edu	5565
	Scott Schmelzer	Director of Scouting and Video Operations	ScottSc@gators.ufl.edu	5527
	Lani McQuade	Executive Assistant	LaniM@gators.ufl.edu	5519
	Natosha Gottlieb	Strength and Conditioning Coordinator (Women's Basketball, Women's Tennis)	NatoshaG@gators.ufl.edu	4994
	Cameron Kinzer	Coordinator of Basketball Technology	CameronK@gators.ufl.edu	5527
	Miriam Rutzen	Recruiting Specialist	MiriamR@gators.ufl.edu	5511

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at Navy on Nov. 16, 2025 at 1 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Florida State on Nov. 20, 2025 at 6:30 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at Florida Atlantic on Nov. 24, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Memphis on Nov. 28, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Georgia Tech on Nov. 29, 2025 at 5 p.m.

2020-21 Women's Basketball Roster

Kiara Smith

Emily Sullivan

Lavender Briggs

Danielle Rainey

Emanuely de Oliveira

Jordyn Merritt

Floor Toonders

Kristina Moore

Nina Rickards

Brynn Farrell

Faith Dut

Cydnee Kinslow

Cam Newbauer

Kelly Rae Finley

Erika Lang-Montgomery

Julian Assibey

Serena Lamar

Scott Schmelzer

Lani McQuade

Natosha Gottlieb

Cameron Kinzer

Miriam Rutzen