The Wildcats have secured their next head coach in Princeton's Carla Berube.
One year and one day after Joe McKeown revealed his intention to retire from coaching collegiate women's basketball, Northwestern found his successor.
The program officially announced Princeton's Carla Berube as the next head coach of the Northwestern Wildcats on Wednesday afternoon. She is the seventh head coach in school history and will look to lead NU back to the unprecedented success it had under McKeown.
"I'm incredibly honored to join the women's basketball program at Northwestern University," Berube said in a press release. "This is a place where academic and athletic excellence go hand in hand, and I'm excited to build a championship culture that reflects that standard. Competing in the Big Ten Conference requires toughness, discipline, and a relentless commitment to growth. We are going to embrace that challenge and build a team that competes with pride and goes to battle for one another every night."
Berube previously spent 17 seasons at Tufts University in Division III before Princeton hired her in 2019. In the six seasons she coached the Tigers — the Ivy League cancelled the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic — Princeton won its conference and reached the NCAA Tournament five times.
The former UConn Huskies forward, who helped legendary head coach Geno Auriemma win his first national championship in 1995, compiled a stellar 147-28 (.840) record at Princeton. The Tigers never finished worse than second in the Ivy League and won more than 90% of their conference games.
Mar 21, 2026; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Princeton Tigers head coach Carla Berube during the second half against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn ImagesAthletic director Mark Jackson said that Northwestern had three goals in its head coaching search that ultimately resulted in Berube's hiring: alignment with Northwestern's culture, a proven winner with NCAA Tournament experience and the ability to balance high academic standards with athletic competitiveness.
"Carla Berube delivers on all fronts," Jackson said. "Equally as important, we found a leader with a rare combination of fierce competitiveness, humility and the ability to develop players and people with compassion and dedication. We are thrilled to welcome Carla and her family to Northwestern."
Princeton went 26-4 (12-2 Ivy League) this year, earning the No. 23 rank in the AP Poll on the way to the conference's regular season and tournament titles. The Tigers were a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but lost to No. 8 Oklahoma State in the Round of 64, 82-68.
Berube will look to revitalize a Northwestern program that has struggled since Veronica Burton graduated. The point guard was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft, and the Wildcats have combined to go just 35-81 (10-60 B1G) in the four seasons without her.
Despite the difficult past half-decade, McKeown ended his career as the winningest basketball coach in Northwestern history. He tallied 276 wins across 18 seasons, which included a Big Ten Championship in 2019-20 and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2014-15 and 2020-21.