Assumption University

Head coach Kerry Phayre enters her 30th season as the women’s basketball head coach at Assumption during the 2025-26 campaign. Not only is Coach Phayre the winningest coach in Assumption’s men's or women’s basketball history, she is the winningest coach in the history of Assumption Athletics with 493 career wins.

The 2022-23 season for the Assumption Greyhounds Women's Basketball team was a historic one. For the first time in program history, the Hounds secured an East Regional Championship as the #1 seeded host and progressed to the Elite Eight. Under Phayre's guidance, women's basketball is just the ninth team in Assumption history to win a regional title and have reached the NCAA Tournament on ten occasions. The Hounds had their best start in program history (11-0) and won their first NE10 regular season championship. The squad set a program record of 27 wins on the season, surpassing the previous record of 22 wins, which was last done in 2012-13. The Greyhounds ranked in the top 25 nationally in scoring defense (1st, 50.8), field goal percentage (1st, 32.9), three-point defense (5th, 25.1), fouls per game (11th, 13.3), winning percentage (15th, 84.4), and scoring margin (22nd, 12.7). Additionally, Assumption ranked in the WBCA Top 25 for 10 weeks and ended the season ranked #10, which is also the highest ranking in program history. When the season had concluded, the Blue and White were ranked D2 NCAA #1 in Scoring Defense, #1 in FG% Defense, and #5 in 3 Pt FG% Defense.

During her time at Assumption, Phayre has coached 45 Northeast-10 Conference All-Conference selections, five Academic All-District players, three Academic All-Americans, one Northeast-10 Player of the Year (Katelyn Dwyer), two Northeast-10 Freshmen of the Year (Charde Floyd, Gabrielle Gibson), two Northeast-10 Scholar-Athletes of the Year (Stacy Mattioli, Leslie Lupien), 20 of the top 25 scorers in school history and guided three of her players to professional basketball careers: Kelly Meredith, Morgan O'Donnell and Jordan Hawkins. She has coached one Defensive Player of the Year in her career as well. Many of her players have received the Desautels Award for being the top female senior athlete at Assumption and the Laska Award for being the top female athlete at Assumption overall.  

The 2024-25 season was an excellent measure of Coach Phayre's ability to manage a roster. Key players on the Greyhounds sustained injuries staggered throughout the season. Still, the team earned a home court advantage by clinching the No. 6 seed with a three-game winning streak, ending the regular season 16-12 overall with a 9-11 Northeast-10 record. Phayre led the Greyhounds to the Northeast-10 Tournament Championship, where they fell to No. 1 Bentley University 64-54. Assumption's postseason run, featuring a 57-54 overtime upset over No. 3 University of New Haven, serves as a reminder to never count out Coach Phayre's Greyhounds. 

In the 2019-20 season, the Hounds finished with an overall record of 14-15 and a 7-12 mark in NE10 play. They earned a spot in the conference tournament and defeated Pace, 59-45 in the first round before falling to Stonehill in the quarterfinals. Brianna Capacchione led the Hounds, averaging 14.6 points per game, and was named to the NE10 All-Conference Third Team.

In the 2018-19 season, Phayre led the Hounds to a 14-14 season highlighted by a six-game win streak from November 25 to December 18. During the season, senior Morgan O'Donnell scored her 1,000th career point, making her the 25th player in Assumption history, along with being named to the NE10 First-Team All-Conference for Phayre's 38th player to do so. 

In the 2017-18 season, the Hounds went 10-16 but did earn a number of impressive victories, including a 12-point win over nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas. Junior Morgan O'Donnell earned Third-Team All-Conference honors after leading the team in points, rebounds, and blocks.

Phayre led the Hounds to a breakout 2016-17 campaign, as the team went 19-7 during the regular season, including wins over nationally ranked Adelphi and Queens (N.Y.). Assumption was the No. 2 seed in the NE10 Tournament and also earned its first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 2014. Senior Jo Impellizeri earned Second-Team All-Conference, while Allison Stoddard earned Third-Team honors.

In 2015-16, Phayre's team reached the Northeast-10 tournament after finishing the season with an overall record of 15-12 and 11-10 in conference play. After the season, two members of the team were awarded with Northeast-10 Honorable Mention All-Conference honors.

During the 2014-2015 season, Phayre's team picked up three home victories over top-10 teams as the squad advanced to the Northeast-10 Tournament. The Hounds finished the season with a 15-12 overall record, including a 10-11 mark in league play as two players earned Northeast-10 Honorable Mention All-Conference honors. The team was also awarded the Thomas Jefferson Award by the Worcester Public Schools for the program's outstanding community service work with the Chandler Elementary School in Worcester.

During the 2013-2014 season, under the guidance of Phayre, the team went 18-11 and 13-8 in conference play, advancing to the Northeast-10 Conference semifinals with a roster that featured seven freshmen. In addition, Phayre’s team also received a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time and third time in a four-year stretch. Phayre earned her 300th win as the head coach at Assumption in a 55-47 home victory on January 25, 2014, against American International College.   

In the 2012-2013 season, Phayre guided the Hounds to a 22-8 record and the program’s first-ever appearance in the Northeast-10 Championship Game after a thrilling home semifinal win over Merrimack. Earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament, Phayre also recorded her 300th overall career victory as a head coach with a 78-69 road victory over the University of New Haven on February 13, 2013.

In 2011-12, Phayre’s team posted a 17-10 record overall, a 14-8 mark in the Northeast-10 and advanced to the Northeast-10 Tournament.

COACHING CAREER

• Head Coach at Columbia University (1991-1996)
• Assistant Coach at Boston College (1986-1991)
• Assistant Coach at St. John's University (1984-1986)
• Assistant Coach at University of Vermont (1983-1984)

PLAYING CAREER

• Transferred to Providence College to finish her college career (1980-83)
  • A standout point guard for the Friars, Phayre scored 1,269 points and posted 432 career assists while serving as a two-time team captain
  • She was a finalist for the Margaret Wade Trophy in 1982, given to the National Player of the Year, and was a Kodak All-American as she helped her team to a 66-27 record during her career
• Played her first college season at Southern Connecticut State College (1979-80)
• Phayre was one of Rhode Island’s outstanding female high school basketball players; while at Saint Xavier in Providence, RI, she led her team to three Rhode Island state championships
  • She finished her career with 1,174 career points, a 76-4 overall four-year record, and was a two-time All-State selection

PERSONAL LIFE

• She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Providence in 1983
• A native of Cranston, R.I., Phayre is a member of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and is one of the leading clinicians in the Northeast
• She was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in the fall of 2006 and resides in Worcester, Massachusetts