Charli Turner Thorne, Arizona State women’s basketball coach, is retiring after 25-years.
Turner Thorne announced her retirement on Thursday, one day after the Sun Devils lost against Oregon State in round one of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.
After being hired in 1996, Turner Thorne transformed Arizona State into a national powerhouse. Her 14 trips to the NCAA Tournament included five Sweet Sixteen appearances and two trips to Elite Eight.
Turner Thorne, 55, is Arizona State’s winningest coach. She also ranks second in the Pac-12 behind Tara VanDerveer of Stanford, her former coach. Her record: 500-308.
Turner Thorne was a Stanford player for four seasons before she began her coaching career. She started as a graduate assistant at Washington and then moved on to Santa Clara, where she worked as an assistant coach. Then she became the head coach of Northern Arizona.
Arizona State was 20-60 during the three seasons prior to Turner Thorne’s hiring. She rebuilt the program and led the Sun Devils back to the Pac-10 tournament and their first league championships.
Arizona State was able to record six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances between 2014-19. It also qualified for the postseason 23 of 24 times under Turner Thorne. She was absent during the 2011-12 season, but she led the Sun Devils into the second round in the NCAA Tournament 2013-14.
This season, the Sun Devils were plagued by injuries. They finished 12-14 overall and 4-9 Pac-12.
