Michele Woods-Baxter

Michele Woods-Baxter, widely known as “Coach B,” is the Interim Head Women’s Basketball Coach at the University of South Florida, a role she assumed effective October 23, 2025. Entering her 18th season on the Bulls’ coaching staff during the 2025–26 campaign, Woods-Baxter has been one of the most influential and enduring figures in the history of the program. She joined South Florida in August 2008 as an assistant coach and was promoted to associate head coach in May 2018. Over her tenure, she has played a central role in nine 20-win seasons, 13 postseason appearances, and eight NCAA Tournament berths, helping establish USF as a consistent national presence in women’s basketball. Renowned for her work with wing players and her eye for international talent, Woods-Baxter has been instrumental in the development of some of the program’s most accomplished athletes. She worked closely with Courtney Williams, USF’s first All-American, along with All-America honorees Kitija Laksa and Maria Jespersen, and helped guide multiple All-Conference and All-Tournament selections during the program’s most successful seasons. Her impact was especially evident during the historic 2020–21 campaign, when South Florida captured its first American Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships and rose to a program-high No. 12 national ranking. Before arriving at USF, Woods-Baxter spent eight years at Monmouth University, including her final three-and-a-half seasons as head coach, where she led the Hawks to sustained success and multiple NEC Tournament semifinal appearances. Her coaching career began in South Florida at the high school and AAU levels, followed by a successful stint at Tallahassee Community College. A native of Oxford, Michigan, Woods-Baxter holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from St. John Fisher College and resides in Tampa with her husband, Jim.