WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue women's basketball head coach Sharon Versyp announced her retirement Thursday. She was expected to retire after the 2021-22 season.
Katie Gearlds, who became Purdue's associate head coach of women's basketball last spring, will now take over as head coach. The transition had been planned following Versyp's retirement, originally announced for 2022.
Gearlds left Marian University after eight seasons that included back-to-back NAIA National Championships in 2016 and 2017. She won 228 games and lost only 50 over that span.
During Gearlds' senior season at Purdue, the Beech Grove native led the Boilermakers to an Elite Eight appearance in 2007. She was also a former Indiana Miss Basketball.
Versyp coached the Boilermakers for 15 seasons, was its all-time winningest coach, and was one of eight coaches across all sports at Purdue to reach the 300-wins plateau.
Versyp was was recently under investigation for creating a toxic and hostile environment, according to a report in the Lafayette Journal and Courier last month. 13News reached out to Purdue University for comment, but have not heard back.
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