Penn State women’s basketball head coach Tanisha Wright announced on April 15 that Octavia Blue will join the Lady Lions as an assistant coach ahead of the 2026-27 season. Blue brings two decades of collegiate coaching experience and a notable background as both a student-athlete and professional player in the Women’s National Basketball Association.
Wright said, “The addition of coach Blue to Penn State women’s basketball will be monumental. Her experience in the collegiate basketball world as both a coach and a player will be instrumental in guiding our student-athletes to greatness on and off the court. Blue is an important addition to the Lady Lion basketball program and I couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome her to Happy Valley.”
Blue arrives at Penn State after serving five seasons as head coach at Kennesaw State University, where she compiled a record of 61-89. During her tenure, she led Kennesaw State through conference realignment into Conference USA for the 2024-25 season and mentored four all-conference selections, including first team honoree Prencis Harden. The Owls achieved several milestones under her leadership, such as surpassing 100 points in a game for the first time in program history with a win over Thomas University.
Prior to Kennesaw State, Blue spent nearly ten years coaching at her alma mater, Miami, advancing from assistant coach to associate head coach by the 2020-21 season. She focused primarily on post players’ skill development and helped guide five All-ACC players and three WNBA Draft picks while making six NCAA Tournament appearances with Miami.
Blue also held coaching positions at Georgia Tech from 2009-12—helping sign two Top 25 recruiting classes—and had stints at St John’s University and St. Thomas University early in her career. As a player, she was selected fifteenth overall by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 1998 WNBA Draft—the first Miami athlete ever drafted into the league—and played professionally for nine years both domestically and overseas.
Her achievements include being inducted into the UM Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, named an ACC Women’s Basketball legend in 2008, and having her number retired by Miami in Coral Gables.
