It’s the end of an era for Arizona State women’s basketball as Charli Turner Thorne announced that she will be stepping down as head coach after 25 years with the program. The announcement was made on Thursday March 3rd one day after ASU’s heartbreaking loss to Oregon State in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament. In a joint press conference, both Coach Thorne and Athletic Director Ray Anderson made it clear that the decision was voluntary on Thorne’s behalf and that the University and the longtime head coach are ending things on good terms. Charli Turner Thorne will end her time coaching the Sun Devils as the winningest coach in program history.
The Sun Devils hired Charli Turner Thorne to be the head coach ahead of the 1996/97 season. Arizona State hired her to fix an ailing women’s basketball team, and in year five Throne led the Sun Devils to a share of the 2000/01 Pac-10 regular season title with a 20-11 record (12-6 in Pac-10 play) and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. It was the program’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 22 years. The following year, the Sun Devils went 25-9 (12-6 in Pac-10 play) and finished second in the 2001/02 Pac-10 regular season. They won the inaugural Pac-10 Tournament and made it back to the NCAA Tournament. The Sun Devils won 24 games during the 2004/05 season and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. This was the first of five Sweet Sixteen appearances for the Sun Devils under Turner Thorne’s leadership. Throne’s best season came in 2006/07 when the Sun Devils finished with 31 wins (16 conference wins) and advanced to the Elite Eight, but lost to Rutgers 64-45 with a trip to the Final Four on the line. Two years later, the Sun Devils returned to the Elite Eight, but suffered a heavy defeat to UConn 83-64 ending their hopes of reaching the Final Four. This was the final time the Sun Devils would advance to the Elite Eight with Turner Thorne as head coach. Charli Turner Thorne led the Sun Devils to the Sweet Sixteen five times and the Elite Eight twice during her 25 seasons with the program.
The last two seasons were difficult for Thorne as the Sun Devils went 12-12 (6-9 in Pac-12 play) for the 2020/21 season finishing 9th in the Pac-12 regular season, and qualifying for the NIT where they lost to Rice in the first round. Turner Thorne’s squad struggled again in the 2021/22 season due to injuries and a Covd-19 outbreak that sidelined the team for a month. The Sun Devils were finally able to return shortly after the start of the new year, but were unable to get into good form. The Sun Devils finished 12-14 (4-9 in Pac-12 play) as they lost 5 straight to end the season, and then suffered an early exit in the Pac-12 Tournament. It is unlikely the Sun Devils will qualify for a postseason tournament, and if they do, it will be an NIT berth.
Charli Turner Thorne will leave as the greatest coach in the history of the women’s basketball program at Arizona State. She won 488 games as head coach and led the Sun Devils to the NCAA Tournament 14 times, with five trips to the Sweet Sixteen and two trips to the Elite Eight. The Sun Devils were regular season champs twice, and Pac-10 Tournament champs once during Turner Thorne’s tenure, and she won Pac-10/12 coach of the year twice. She is the winningest coach in program history. Charli Turner Thorne’s 488 wins are also second all-time in the Pac-12 behind Stanford Head Coach Tara VanDerveer (998).
It’s anyone’s guess as to who the Sun Devils will pursue as their next head coach. They could hire within by promoting one of Thorne’s assistants, they could try poaching an assistant coach from a top program such as South Carolina, UConn, and Stanford, or they could wait to see which coaches become available in the offseason. Regardless of who the Sun Devils pick, the next coach will have big shoes to fill.
