WISE - - Each year the athletic department presents a Coach of the Year Award to the coach who has most successfully led their program this year. It recognizes outstanding efforts by the coach and exceptional service to the athletic department and the College. The coach has shown consistent dedication to all aspects of the sport and strives for improvement every season on and off the field. This year's award winner is Jamie Cluesman who recently completed her third year at the helm of the school's women's basketball program.

Named the South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year, she became the first women's basketball coach in school history, regardless of conference, to be named coach of the year by a conference. The third-year coach saw her Cavaliers picked ninth in the Preseason SAC Coaches' Poll and it was quickly obvious that Cluesman's crew was going to defy those prognostications.

After a season opening loss at Tusculum, UVA Wise won 10 consecutive games as the team improved to 9-1 in league play during the stretch. Overall, the Cavs did not lose a game from Nov. 25 – Feb. 5 as Cluesman guided the team to receiving votes in the national WBCA NCAA Division II Poll for the first time in program history.

UVA Wise also received regional recognition throughout the year as the team received votes in the Southeast Regional Poll and spent the season under consideration for the NCAA Tournament.

Cluesman's team finished the regular season with the third most wins in the league and followed up the regular season performance by winning the program's first postseason game since 2017. This year's squad also knocked off a nationally ranked foe with an 80-72 win over No. 25 Tusculum inside the Prior Center in the regular season finale. It marked the second straight year Cluesman guided the team to a win over a nationally ranked opponent.

The UVA Wise Coach of the Year award is the first for Cluesman. A complete list of previous winners may be found below: