Hawaii’s Laura Beeman is on the short list of candidates for the vacant women’s basketball head coach job at Utah, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed on Monday.
The website SwishAppeal.com first reported Beeman was one of three finalists for the Utah post, along with Fresno State coach Jaime White and Pacific coach Lynne Roberts.
Anthony Levrets was fired in early March after five seasons at the Pac-12 school. He went 9-21 in his final season, and 78-87 overall while making $313,183 per season.
Beeman did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment on Monday.
A source close to UH said although the coach’s desire to stay at UH remains strong, she felt the Utah opportunity necessitated exploring.
The Rainbow Wahine are coming off a 23-9 season and third straight WNIT appearance in Beeman’s third year in Manoa. She was named the Big West Coach of the Year for 2014-15, during which the Rainbow Wahine rattled off 15 straight victories.
Beeman’s ability to win consistently since her arrival in 2012 has fed speculation that she would be the target of a Pac-12 program. Beeman assisted at USC before taking the UH job, which was the California native’s first head coaching gig in Division I. Previously, she found success as a longtime coach at Mount San Antonio (Calif.) College.
In December, Beeman was extended three years by UH through 2017 and given what was described as a "slight bump" to her annual salary of $130,000.
"I’m never surprised by anybody coming after Laura Beeman because she is a great coach, and it’s the reason why we signed her to a three-year extension," said outgoing UH athletic director Ben Jay. "But again, I’m not surprised because she’d be a great coach for any program."
Beeman was announced by UH last Thursday as one of four people on the search advisory committee for the UH men’s hoops job.
UH is 57-37 in Beeman’s three years.