Jennie Baranczyk | Head Coach

Jennie Baranczyk was named the ninth head coach of the Oklahoma women's basketball program on April 10, 2021, and will enter her third season at the program's helm in 2023-24.

Baranczyk (pronounced bah-RAHN-check), a 12-year head coach, spent nine seasons at Drake before starting her Oklahoma tenure in 2021-22. In each of her first two seasons in Norman, Baranczyk was a WBCA National Coach of the Year finalist. Her 51-16 (.761) record marked the best two-year start in program history.

Her teams have reached 20 wins in eight of the last nine seasons, including back-to-back 25-win campaigns at Oklahoma. She's led her teams to five NCAA Tournaments and produced 30 all-conference honorees over the previous 12 seasons.

In her second season at Oklahoma, Baranczyk led Oklahoma to its first Big 12 championship since 2009. The Sooners posted a 14-4 record in league play to share the conference's regular season title en route to a 26-7 overall record and second consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Sooners swept a program-record six teams in league play, and the team's 26 wins were the most for Oklahoma in 13 years.

She coached Madi Williams to a unanimous All-Big 12 first-team selection, Taylor Robertson and Ana Llanusa to second-team honors and Skylar Vann to an honorable mention. Vann also won the league's Sixth Player Award for the second consecutive year, and freshman Beatrice Culliton earned an All-Freshman nod. In addition, Baranczyk developed Williams into one of the nation's top players, as the forward became OU's first WNBA Draft Pick (18th overall) since 2013. Williams and Robertson earned WBCA All-America honors, and Williams garnered an AP All-America nod, too.

In her first year in Norman, she led one of the greatest turnarounds in the country, guiding the Sooners to a 25-9 record and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The 13-win improvement from the season before Baranczyk's arrival was the second-largest turnaround in program history. The Des Moines, Iowa, product was named a WBCA National Coach of the Year finalist for her efforts. In addition, the team reached 20 wins faster than all but two teams in program history, rising to No. 12 in the AP Poll midway through the season. Madi Williams and Taylor Robertson earned unanimous All-Big 12 first-team selections, while Skylar Vann was named the league's Sixth Player of the Year.

She became the only first-year head coach in OU history to sweep Baylor and Oklahoma State in the regular season and added a win over Texas in her first campaign. Her four wins over top-25 teams were the most for a first-year Sooner head coach and were the most for the program since 2009-10, the last time OU posted 25 wins in a season.

She coached two Sooners, Taylor Robertson and Madi Williams, to unanimous first-team All-Big 12 selections, the first Sooner pair to do since 2012. Under Baranczyk's watch, Skylar Vann was named the 2022 Big 12 Sixth Player of the Year, and Kelbie Washington earned All-Big 12 Freshman Team honors. Robertson became OU's first All-America selection since Aaryn Ellenberg in 2014, earning an honorable mention.

Baranczyk came to OU after amassing a 192-96 (.667) record at Drake and leading the Bulldogs to six consecutive 20-win seasons (2014-15 through 2019-20) and three NCAA tournament berths (2017-19). A two-time Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year, Baranczyk's .667 winning percentage ranks fifth in the league's history.

Baranczyk won back-to-back MVC Coach of the Year awards after her team's historic 2016-17 and 2017-18 campaigns, leading the Bulldogs to an 18-0 regular-season conference record both years and winning both MVC Tournaments. And after the 2018-19 squad posted a 17-1 league record, the Bulldogs had amassed a near-perfect three-year MVC mark of 53-1 (.981).

Drake's 2016-17 team finished with a 28-5 record, including a school- and MVC-record 22-game winning streak. That season, Baranczyk was named Mid-Major Coach of the Year by ESPNW.

Three of Baranczyk's players at Drake combined to win five Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year awards. She produced 24 all-conference selections during her Drake tenure, including a league-high 18 first-team honorees and a league-leading 38 MVC Player of the Week winners. In addition, she coached four players to MVC Freshman of the Year honors and the program's first two MVC Defensive Player of the Year recipients in 2018 and 2019.

Baranczyk began her coaching career in the Big 12 Conference, serving first as an assistant coach at Kansas State during the 2005-06 season (the Wildcats won the WNIT) and returning to the league as an assistant coach at Colorado from 2010-12. Between her Big 12 stints, Baranczyk was an assistant coach at Marquette from 2006-10, helping the Golden Eagles to an 81-53 record and four postseason appearances. The 2007-08 squad won the WNIT title.

Formerly Jennie Lillis, Baranczyk spent her collegiate career at the University of Iowa (2000-04) and is regarded as one of the best all-around players in Hawkeye women's basketball history. She was a three-time All-Big Ten Conference selection, earning first-team honors as a junior (2003) and second-team recognition as a sophomore (2002) and senior (2004).

The Des Moines, Iowa, product led the Hawkeyes to four postseason appearances, including three NCAA tournament berths and the 2001 Big Ten Tournament title. Baranczyk graduated as the only player in Iowa history ranked in the top 10 of five major statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. Additionally, she was one of only two Hawkeyes to score more than 1,700 points and grab 800 rebounds in their career.

Baranczyk earned a bachelor's degree in communication studies from Iowa in 2004. She was the recipient of the 2004 Big Ten Conference's Medal of Honor, the award given annually to a student in the graduating class of each university that demonstrated proficiency in scholarship and athletics. She was also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, a WBCA Scholarship Award recipient, a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and a Collegiate Basketball Award for Excellence semifinalist as a senior in 2004.

Baranczyk, who obtained a master's degree in counseling and student development from Kansas State in 2006, is married. She and her husband, Scott, have a son, Eli, and two daughters, Jordi and Hope.