|
| MIT athletics YouTube |
MIT women's basketball head coach/assistant director of compliance Sonia Raman has resigned to accept an assistant coach position with the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association. Raman begins her duties with the Grizzlies on November 1.
Assistant coach Meghan O'Connell will serve as the women's basketball interim head coach for the 2020-21 season, as announced by G. Anthony Grant, MIT athletic director.
"I would first like to congratulate Sonia on this amazing opportunity that she has with the Memphis Grizzlies," said Dr. Grant. "She is very well-deserving of this and I know that she will do a great job in the NBA. Sonia has built our women's basketball program into a perennial contender for the NEWMAC Championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament and I am appreciative of her dedication and commitment to our student-athletes in each of her roles. We wish Sonia the best in Memphis and look forward to following her continued success in the pros."
With her hiring, Raman is now the 14th female assistant coach in NBA history and the second for the Grizzlies. Niele Ivey also served as an assistant coach in Memphis for the 2019-20 season before being named as the head coach at Notre Dame on April 22, 2020.
A two-time New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, Raman is the winningest coach in MIT women's basketball history and has guided the Engineers to three straight NEWMAC championship games. Capturing back-to-back NEWMAC Tournament Championships and NCAA Tournament berths in 2017-18 and 2018-19, she has coached 18 NEWMAC all-conference players, including four Rookie of the Year honorees. Raman's student-athletes have also earned 69 NEWMAC academic all-conference accolades and her teams have appeared in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Academic Top 25 on six occasions, including three top-10 finishes.
"I have been proud to call MIT my home for the last 12 years," said Raman. "It has been an absolute dream to coach these incredible women, past and present, who have defined what it means to wear the MIT jersey. I am thankful to all of the talented assistant coaches for their selfless contributions and their friendship. They have made me and the program better. Additionally, I am so fortunate to have the support I received from our alumnae, our families, and everyone in the athletics department and the larger campus community; it is what makes MIT consistently excellent. It has been such a special journey being surrounded by so many who inspire me every day. As I embark on my next chapter, I am taking with me all of the conversations, the moments in Rockwell, the tough losses, the exciting wins and of course all of the people. I will always be grateful for my MIT Basketball family and wish them continued success."