Carla Morrow

Morrow began her Ohio State coaching career in September of 2019 following a three-year run as an assistant coach for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky. She was promoted to associate head coach in August of 2021.

The 2019-20 season was a good first season for Morrow and the Buckeyes from a development standpoint. The team welcomed in seven new players to the roster, and while there were ups and downs, the team was playing its best basketball down the stretch. The Buckeyes won six in-a-row in February, 10 out of their final 13 overall and made a run to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game. They were projected as anywhere from a five, six or seven seed in the NCAA Tournament before the COVID-19 outbreak put a halt to the sports world. Overall, they were 21-12 and finished fifth in the Big Ten at 11-7.

The shortened 2020-21 season was filled with uncertainty but Morrow and the Buckeyes played well and were ranked ranked all season long, reaching at high as 11th in early February. The team won three consecutive games over Top 15 ranked opponents for the first time in program history and finished the season with a 13-7 overall record.

The Buckeyes won a share of the Big Ten regular season championship in 2021-22, finishing the conference schedule with a 14-4 record. Ohio State did not lose to an unranked team during Big Ten play. OSU went on to earn a six-seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017. OSU earned three ranked wins during the 2021-22 season, first beating No. 12/11 Maryland at home before taking care of business at No. 21/24 Iowa. The Buckeyes most convincing ranked win came in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at No. 8/9 LSU by a 79-64 margin.

Morrow joined McGuff’s staff for a second time as she also served as an assistant coach with him for four seasons at Xavier from 2007-11. In all, Morrow was with the Xavier program for 10 years, helping compile a 184-128 overall record and an 87-59 mark in conference action. The Musketeers also captured six A-10 Championships and advanced to four NCAA Tournaments highlighted by an Elite Eight appearance with McGuff in 2010.

She began her three-year stint with the Chicago Sky in April of 2017. While on staff, she and the Sky went 45-57, which included a 20-14 record this past season and a playoff appearance. Morrow also helped with the development of Diamond DeShields, Allie Quigley and Courtney Vandersloot who were all named to the All-Star team in 2019.

Before her time at Xavier, she spent two years at Colorado as the director of basketball operations. While at Colorado, Morrow was responsible for organizing the team travel and film exchange, coordinating summer camps and publicity events while also serving as the team’s academic, equipment and compliance liaison.

Prior to her time at Colorado, Morrow served as the director of basketball operations at Missouri State. With the Bears, Morrow’s duties included film exchange and handling day-to-day operations within the program. The Bears won the 2005 WNIT and made an appearance in the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

As a player, Morrow was a four-year standout guard at Tulsa from 1998-2002. She was the first player in Tulsa history with 1,000 points and 600 rebounds in a career. She finished her career ranking second in 3-point field goals (122), total field goals (427), rebounds (642), steals (201) and games played on the Golden Hurricane career charts and was third in scoring with 1,115 points.

Morrow was named to the All-Western Athletic Conference Second Team as a senior in 2002, averaging 12.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. She signed a free agent contract with the WNBA’s Seattle Storm in 2002 to become the first Golden Hurricane to sign a professional contract.

Morrow graduated from Tulsa in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in sport management. She spent the 2002-03 season as the freshman and varsity basketball coach at Tulsa Central High School. Morrow earned her master’s degree in physical education from Missouri State in 2004.