Shawn Poppie earns extension as revivalist of women’s basketball

Picture from The Tuscaloosa News

On Feb. 6, Clemson athletic director Graham Neff announced that women’s basketball head coach Shawn Poppie had been approved for a five-year contract extension by the Clemson Board of Trustees compensation committee. The extension keeps Poppie at the helm for the women’s team through the 2030-31 school year.

Poppie is tagged as a vital part of the women’s basketball program in the Tigers’ recent turnaround. He has led them to a 16-8 record thus far in 2025-26, going 7-5 in ACC play, making this year’s team already superior to last year’s in ACC games by a win. Poppie’s 2026 squad is already on a far better pace than the 14-17 campaign last year, with six more games still remaining on the regular season schedule.

“The profile and competitive success of the women’s basketball program under Coach Poppie’s direction continues to rise,” Graham Neff said in an official statement on Feb. 6. “What he and his staff have been able to do on the court, in the community and on the recruiting trail has been remarkable in terms of growth and engagement, and we’re excited to continue to see the program reach new heights with this renewed commitment.”

Poppie came to Clemson in the 2024-25 season, immediately making the women’s team the talk of the town and drawing the highest attendance in program history since 2001-02 with 36,408 fans pouring into Littlejohn Coliseum to witness the squad.

His success preceded him. Poppie held his first head coaching position in Chattanooga from 2022-23 to 2023-24, overseeing a similar program turnaround as he led the Lady Mocs to back-to-back Southern Conference titles and two NCAA tournament appearances. Poppie was also awarded SoCon Coach of the Year in 2023-24 before accepting a job with Clemson that offseason.

Poppie has been an expert recruiter for Clemson women’s basketball so far, making Clemson the fourth-best recruiting class in the country for 2026. The Tigers will bring in guard Trinity Jones, the No. 9 overall recruit according to 247Sports; forward Julia Scott, ranked No. 40; forward Kimora Fields, ranked No. 46; and guard Meeyah Green, ranked No. 63, for next year.

Poppie has already excelled at transfer portal recruiting, as the top three scorers on the 2026 Clemson team are transfer players who arrived during Poppie’s tenure. These include Georgia Tech transfer Rusne Augustinaite, leading the way for the Tigers with 11.8 PPG, guard Mia Moore from UAB and guard Rachael Rose from Wofford, averaging 11.3 and 10.1 PPG, respectively.

ESPN’s Charlie Creme places this Clemson team as a “Last Four In” in his latest women’s tournament Bracketology projections. Poppie’s Tigers sit at No. 40 in NET rankings, currently holding a 2-7 Quad 1 record with one Quad 3 loss. They are ranked No. 7 in ACC play.

ARTICLE ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN CLEMSON UNIVERISTY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER, THE TIGER.