CHARLOTTE, N.C.- Trudi Lacey is leaving her post as head women's basketball coach at Queens University of Charlotte to become general manager and head coach of the Washington Mystics WNBA team.
Lacey joined Queens in 2008, and helped elevate the women's basketball program immensely, said Royals Athletics Director
Jeannie King.
“We are so grateful for Trudi's excellent leadership and the depth she added to our program,” King said. “We will miss her great energy and expertise immensely.”
Royals Assistant Coach Cheryl Nix will become interim head coach.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of the Queens family,” Lacey said. “I want to thank my staff for their hard work and support and, most importantly, I want to thank my players who allowed me to play a short, but significant role in their lives. I wish them nothing but the best. They all hold a very special place in my heart.”
Lacey's relationship with the Mystics began in 2009 when she became assistant head coach, serving that team during the WNBA season and returning to Charlotte to lead the Royals during the collegiate season.
She previously was head coach and general manager for the
Charlotte Sting and has been a coach at the University of Maryland, the University of South Florida, NAIA Francis Marion College, Manhattan College and
James Madison University. She also was an administrator for USA Basketball during the 2000 Olympics.
Lacey has been active in the Charlotte community and serves on the boards for A Child's Place, the National Kidney Foundation, the Johnston YMCA and Mothering across Continents which addresses the HIV/AIDS pandemic in South Africa.
Lacey earned her bachelor's degree in business management and master's degree in sports management from N.C. State University where she played for the legendary coach Kay Yow. At N.C. State she was an All-American basketball player. Her jersey was retired by the school in 2000, and she was named to the ACC All-Legend Team.
