Former WVU WBB HC Mike Carey to Return to Coaching on UCF Staff

Former WVU women’s basketball head coach Mike Carey is back among the coaching ranks.

Carey is returning to Big 12 courts on the staff of the UCF women’s basketball program. UCF welcomed Carey on social media on Wednesday.

Welcome back to the Big 12, Coach Carey 🫡 pic.twitter.com/G38sufndZ1

— UCF Women's Hoops (@UCF_WBB) October 4, 2023

This means Carey will face off against the Mountaineers this coming season and even return to the WVU Coliseum for the first time since ending his tenure.

The Knights host West Virginia on Jan. 13 and visit Morgantown on Jan. 30.

After sitting out for a year, Carey publicly expressed his desire to reclaim his job at WVU when the women’s head coaching position was open recently. Instead of bringing Carey back, West Virginia decided to hire Mark Kellogg.

Mike Carey Publicly Petitions to Reclaim Previous Position as WVU WBB Head Coach

“I definitely am very interested in the WVU job, naturally,” Carey said to WDTV anchor Ally Osborne when asked directly if he wished to return to coach the Mountaineers. Carey then also hinted at why he is having a change of heart from last year when he retired and vacated the role he held from 2001 until 2022.

Carey, who was inducted into the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in February, spent 21 seasons as head coach of the Mountaineers, winning 462 games dating back to 2001. Carey, a Clarksburg native, coached West Virginia to 11-NCAA Tournament appearances and two WNIT runner-ups. WVU won the 2014 Big 12 Regular Season Title and the 2017 Big 12 Conference Tournament under Carey as well.