After winning the 2025 SoCon regular season, Patterson was named SoCon Coach of the Year, marking her third time receiving the award.

Women's Basketball Coaching Honor Roll

Head of the Class (HOTC)
Coach Kara Lawson (HR '24 '23)
Duke University

Honor Roll (HR)
Dawn Staley, University of South Carolina (HOTC '24 '20; HR '23 '22 '21)
Niele Ivey, University of Notre Dame (HR '24 '23 '22)
Larry Vickers, Norfolk State University (HR '24 '23)
Vanessa Blair-Lewis, George Mason University (HR '24)
Chelsea Hayes, Florida Gulf Coast University (Transitioning to Atlanta Dream)
Trina Patterson, UNC Greensboro
Carlos Funchess, Southern University
Bo Browder, Xavier University of Louisiana
Tony Bailey, Clark Atlanta University
Tarrell Robinson, North Carolina A&T State University
Nadine Domond, Virginia State University
John Bonner, California State University-Dominguez Hills

About Achieving Coaching Excellence®
The original concept of ACE was forged for the benefit of 25 black football coaches who convened at Stanford University in 1994.  This professional development model stemmed from the collective efforts of Mike Brown and Ron Thomas of The Sports Institute and Stanford's Kevin Anderson (former Director of Athletics at Army and Maryland), Ted Leland, and the late legendary Coach Bill Walsh.

In 2002, the ACE concept model was modified and adopted by the Black Coaches Association (BCA; later Black Coaches & Administrators) to meet the needs of ethnic minority collegiate women's basketball coaches.  The inaugural ACE for Women program was held in 2003.  Male/men's collegiate basketball coaches were added in 2007.  Primarily, ACE promoted the advancement of aspiring collegiate basketball coaches through programming facilitated by BCA and Advocates for Athletic Equity (AAE) through 2016.

Now, Achieving Coaching Excellence® will remain focused as an affinity group of professional, advancing aspiring coaches and professional development programming.  Achieving Coaching Excellence ® will chart a course for leadership, development, and community.  A rallying point for the coaching profession and for advocacy.

Achieving Coaching Excellence® operates as a recognized 501c3 nonprofit in accordance with the Internal Revenue Service tax code. 

Follow Achieving Coaching Excellence® on Twitter; @ACE_Coaches.  For more information or to donate in support of the organization's mission, e-mail aceprog.info@gmail.com.