BOSTON — Former University of Maine All-American Cindy Blodgett is among the coaches who will not be retained after Boston University on Tuesday announced that women’s basketball head coach Katy Steding will not return next season.
The Clinton native, whose stellar career at Lawrence High School in Fairfield and at UMaine remain unparalleled, has been serving as the Terriers’ associate head coach.
Blodgett’s departure was reported on Twitter by Boston University student journalist Greg Levinsky, who was told by an athletics staff member that only assistant Jenny Thigpin will be retained from the current coaching staff.
BU director of athletics Drew Marrochello on Tuesday announced the firing of Steding, who recently completed her fourth season with the program.
“We would like to thank Katy and her staff for their dedication to our student-athletes and athletic department.” Marrochello said in a news release. “The expectations for our women’s basketball program are high, and after a thorough review we have concluded that a change in leadership is necessary at this time. We wish Katy nothing but the best in her future endeavors.”
Steding’s teams posted a record of 31-88 during her four years at BU and went 10-19 this season, including a 5-13 Patriot League record and a first-round exit from the conference tournament.
The Terriers’ best season under Steding came during 2016-2017 when they went 13-17 and reached the Patriot League quarterfinals after a fourth-place regular-season finish.
BU said a national search to replace Steding will begin immediately.
The 42-year-old Blodgett, who directed UMaine to a 24-94 record as its head coach from 2007 to 2011, joined Steding at Boston University prior to the 2014-2015 season. The two are former teammates with the WNBA’s Sacramento Monarchs.
Blodgett, who was elevated to associate head coach in May 2017, had begun her coaching career as a volunteer assistant at BU in 1999.
She will be inducted into the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame during its ceremonies in August.
The programs with which Blodgett has been affiliated as a coach have struggled on the court.
Prior to UMaine, Blodgett served as an assistant coach at Rhode Island for three seasons under former University of Vermont and Boston College coach Cathy Inglese. The Rams went 14-74 during that span.
Previously, Blodgett was an assistant for two seasons (2005-2007) at Brown University, which posted a 23-33 record during those years under head coach Jean Marie Burr.
Blodgett enjoyed a storied playing career, leading Lawrence to four consecutive Class A state championships while scoring a state all-time best 2,596 points.
At UMaine, Blodgett spearheaded coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie’s Black Bears to four straight NCAA tournament appearances along with two America East Player of the Year awards. She became the second woman to lead the nation in scoring in back-to-back seasons and graduated as the No. 5 career scorer (3,005 points) in Division I history.
Blodgett was the sixth pick of the 1998 WNBA draft by the Cleveland Rockers and played four seasons in the league before capping her career with stints in Korea and France.