Pittsburgh fires women's basketball coach Tory Verdi after 3 seasons

March 3 (UPI) -- The University of Pittsburgh fired women's basketball coach Tory Verdi after three seasons, athletic director Allen Greene announced Tuesday.

Verdi led the Panthers to a 29-66 record over the last three seasons, including an 8-23 mark in 2025-26. The Panthers ended their campaign on a 14-game losing streak.

"After a thorough and thoughtful evaluation of our women's basketball program, it has been determined that we have not progressed enough competitively and now is the right time to seek a new leader for our program," Greene said in a news release.

"We thank Tory for his dedication over the past three seasons and wish him and his family nothing but the best in their future endeavors. "The search process for our next leader is already underway."

The Panthers hired Verdi in 2023. He went 8-24 in his first season and 13-19 in 2024-25.

Verdi previously coached at UMass, where he led the Minutewomen to a 128-86 record over seven seasons. He also coached at Columbia and Eastern Michigan. Verdi has an overall record of 232-220 as a women's college basketball coach.

The Panthers advanced to the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament just once over the last 17 seasons.