LYNCHBURG, Va.- Randolph head women's basketball coach Steve Lanpher, who has led the program for the last six seasons, has announced his resignation to accept an assistant coach position with Division I Cleveland State.

"My resignation is certainly bittersweet," said Lanpher.  "Randolph College has been home for my family for the last six seasons.  I will certainly miss the student athletes that I had the opportunity to coach. Their efforts on and off the court made coaching them a privilege.  The athletic staff is so friendly and cohesive, and I will miss them greatly."

"Steve was able to accomplish a number of benchmarks never reached before at Randolph," Director of Athletics, Tom Galbraith said. "The WildCat community is grateful for his contributions to the department and the College and wish him and his family nothing but the best in Cleveland."

In his six years as head coach, Lanpher posted an overall record of 72-65 which is second on the Randolph career wins coaching list. He led the WildCats to three winning seasons including their most successful season in program history in 2022-23 with a team record 19 wins as Randolph advanced to the ODAC semifinals for the first time ever. In the 2021-22 season, Lanpher led the WildCats to an overall record of 16-7 and 12-5 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The team had two players named to the ODAC All-Conference Team for the first time ever in Kylie Stark and Teniyah Crenshaw-Patterson with Crenshaw-Patterson being named the Rookie of the Year. Both players also earned All-Region accolades by D3Hoops.com.

"I am proud of what we were able to accomplish for women's basketball in terms of success on and off the court," said Lanpher.  "Being able to set the single season record for wins (19) and reaching the ODAC semifinal round are two of the biggest highlights and to leave with a winning record overall are proud accomplishments."  

Under his tutelage, Randolph has had two ODAC and Virginia Sports Information Directors Rookies of the Year in Stark and Crenshaw-Patterson. Stark made the ODAC All-Conference team five times and Crenshaw-Patterson twice. Jessica Jennings was named to the All-Conference Team after the 2023-24 season. As a team, Randolph has qualified for the ODAC Tournament for the last five seasons under his direction.

"I am grateful for all the support, especially Athletic Director Tom Galbraith and President Sue Ott Rowlands," noted Lanpher.  "I will continue to support and follow not only the women's basketball program but the college itself.  Randolph truly is a special place."

A national search to find Lanpher's replacement will begin immediately.