Candice Hill enters her second season as the head coach of the UMBC women's basketball program in 2025-26.
Hill's program posted a record of 14-15 in year one while going 7-9 in America East play. Hill's first season saw UMBC improve on its 2023-24 record by four wins overall and one conference win. 14 wins tied for the most in the program since 2016-17 when the team won 15 games. UMBC's five non-conference victories was the most for the program since 2015.
Defensively, Hill's team held its opponents to just 59.1 points per game, ranking in the top 65 in the country in scoring defense. The Retrievers defended the three-point line well, allowing opponents to shoot just 28.1 percent from three-point range, good for 37th nationally.
Under Hill's guidance, the Retrievers improved offensively from behind the three-point line (29.5% -> 30.4 %) and the free-throw line (67.8% -> 74.7%). The Retrievers also handed out 10.4 assists per game compared to 9.9 the season prior and turned the ball over 1.3 fewer times per game in 2024-25.
Jordon Lewis became Coach Hill's first all-conference selection as she was named to the America East All-Conference Second Team after averaging 11.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting 42 percent from the floor.
Hill earned her first victory as a Retriever on Nov. 6 as UMBC defeated Notre Dame of Maryland 79-24. Her first win over Division I competition came just over a week later as UMBC took down Morgan State 81-72. On Dec. 29, the Retrievers defeated Bryn Athyn 101-49, marking the program's first 100-point game since 2009. Hill's first America East victory came on Jan. 23 as the Retrievers took down UAlbany during Midday Madness. The contest vs. Albany also saw UMBC break its program attendance record with 3,108 fans in attendance.
Also of note from Hill's first season, the program saw six players score in double figures in the win against Morgan State, marking the first instance in program history. The Retrievers also went on the road and defeated Towson, snapping a nine-game losing skid to the Tigers dating back to 2010.
Hill was hired as the 11th head coach in the history of the Women’s Basketball program on April 15, 2024.
A Baltimore native, Hill returned home after spending the three seasons prior as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at perennial BIG EAST contender St.John’s.
Hill joined St. John’s as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator in April of 2021. She was elevated to associate head coach following the 2021-22 campaign and continued in her role spearheading the Johnnies' recruiting efforts.
In 2023-24, Hill continued to elevate the Red Storm program guiding the squad to its second-straight postseason and advanced to the WBIT Second Round. St. John’s tallied a third-place finish in the BIG EAST Conference with an 11-7 mark.
Primarily working with the guards, Hill played a pivotal role in the development of Unique Drake, who increased her scoring average by nearly double-digits and was named a unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection. Drake ranked third in the conference averaging 18.4 points per game and made 79 3-pointers this season, which ranked third-most in program history.
In April 2024, Hill participated in the Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association Next Generation Institute at the Women’s Final Four in Cleveland. She was one of 32 assistant coaches from across all three NCAA Divisions to take part in a high-level educational program geared toward the next generation of head coaches.
She played an integral role in getting the Red Storm back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016 and compiling a 23-9 record.
St. John’s then defeated Purdue in the First Four, before falling(61-59) to No.6 North Carolina.
In 2022-23, Hill mentored a guard unit that featured three BIG EAST award winners and combined for 72.7 percent of the team's scoring. Jayla Everett was a unanimous all-conference first team selection, Unique Drake was named BIG EAST Sixth-Woman of the Year, and Kadaja Bailey was all-league honorable mention.
As recruiting coordinator, Hill was pivotal in compiling the 2023-24 roster that featured eight newcomers, comprising four transfers and four freshmen.
The team finished third in a competitive BIG EAST and received a bid to the WBIT, where they won at Florida, 79-60, and then dropped a 72-71 heartbreaker at Toledo in the second round.
Working primarily with the guards in 2021-22, Hill saw St. John's Leilani Correa earn All-BIG East First Team honors. The Manchester, N.J., native was the first player to earn back-to-back first team honors since Aliyyah Handford, who received the accolade from 2013-16. The Red Storm also saw Kadaja Bailey's efforts rewarded by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association as she took home All-MET Third Team honors following her senior campaign.
Hill joined the Johnnies following a season serving as the assistant coach at her alma mater, Loyola Maryland.
Prior to her time with the Greyhounds, Hill spent six seasons at the University of Massachusetts. Hill was hired by UMass before the start of the 2015-16 season as the director of operations. After one season as the team’s director of operations, Hill was promoted to assistant coach prior to the start of the 2016-17 campaign. During her four-year tenure as an assistant coach, Hill helped UMass improve from 9-21 in 2016-17 to a 20-win season (20-11) in 2019-20. This marked Massachusetts’ first 20-win season since 1995-96.
In 2019, Hill added recruiting coordinator duties to her resume, helping to assemble several nationally-ranked recruiting classes. In the season to follow, Hill helped the team lead the Atlantic 10 Conference and finish 36th in the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.13:1) while closing out the season ranked second in the league in scoring offense (66.0 ppg).
Following the 2019-2020 campaign, Hill earned the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's prestigious Thirty Under 30 Award, an honor that recognizes up-and-coming coaches at all levels of women's basketball.
Before joining the staff in Amherst, Massachusetts, Hill began her collegiate coaching career at Wilmington (Del.) University from 2013-15.
In addition to her coaching ability, Hill was a standout on the court for the Greyhounds. She burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2007-08, becoming the first rookie to start at point guard for the Greyhounds since the 1991-92 season. After setting a freshman record for assists with 93, Hill earned Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Rookie recognition. Over her collegiate career, she played in 117 games, a mark that still ranks 10th in school history, while making 59 starts.
