Assistant Coach Aaron Horn

Aaron Horn enters his first season as an assistant coach for the West Virginia University women’s basketball program� He joined the Mountaineer coaching staff on April 4, 2022� Horn comes to Morgantown after spending the previous six seasons at South Dakota� In his tenure at USD, the Coyotes compiled a 158-36 record, qualified for four NCAA Tournaments (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022), won three Summit League regular-season titles (2018, 2020, 2022) and captured three Summit League Tournament Championships (2020, 2021, 2022)� Horn also helped guide South Dakota to an appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16 during the 2021-22 campaign� Horn was named to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Thirty Under 30 class of 2017� Working on the staff of three-time Summit League Coach of the Year Dawn Plitzuweit, Horn helped her become the fastest Summit League coach to reach 100 wins in just 124 games� Additionally, he was a part of four straight 20-win seasons at USD (2016-20)� In 2021-22, South Dakota finished the season with a 29-6 record and won the Summit League title in the regular season and conference tournament� Following its third consecutive conference tournament title, USD earned the automatic bid for the Summit League in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, earning a No� 10 seed, and defeated No� 7-seeded Ole Miss, 75-61� USD met up with No� 2-seeded Baylor in the round of 32 and defeated the Bears, 61-47, on their home court in Waco, Texas, to advance to the first Sweet 16 in program history. The Coyotes led from start to finish to snap BU’s streak of 12 consecutive Sweet 16 appearances� South Dakota concluded the 2021-22 campaign with a 52-49 loss to No� 3-seeded Michigan in the Sweet 16, in which the Coyotes were tied with the Wolverines until 22 seconds remained in the game� While at South Dakota, Horn helped Plitzuweit’s teams assert themselves as the premier mid-major program in the country� USD tallied at least 28 wins in four seasons and never lost more than nine games in Horn’s six years with the team� Moreover, in the history of the Summit League, only four teams have ever run the table during the regular season� Two of those three teams were Plitzuweit’s Coyotes – in 2018 and 2020� In 2020, her squad outscored league opponents by an average of 32 points per game and became the first and only program to go undefeated in the Summit League’s regular season and win the conference tournament championship� Horn also helped Plitzuweit’s South Dakota teams capture the Summit League records for the most consecutive wins (20, 2017-18), most consecutive league wins (24, 2019-21), most consecutive home league wins (31, 2017-pres�), highest overall winning percentage (�938, 201920) and fewest losses (2, 2019-20)� During his time at South Dakota, the Coyotes made their first appearance in the Associated Press (AP) and USA Today Coaches polls, ranking as high as No� 17 in the AP Poll and No� 11 in the Coaches Poll, both of which came during the 2019-20 campaign� Of note, USD’s No� 11 ranking in the Coaches Poll in 2020 is the highest national ranking earned by a team in the Summit League’s history� South Dakota also set the Summit League records during the 2019-20 season for weeks in both polls, with 16 weeks in the Coaches Poll and 12 weeks in the AP Poll� From 2018-22, USD has received votes or been ranked in the AP Top 25 in 45 weeks� Statistically, Horn was part of a coaching staff that helped South Dakota rank in the top 20 nationally in scoring margin and turnover margin from 2018-22� During that four-year stretch, the Coyotes outscored their opponents by an average of 18�5 points per game and maintained a turnover margin of 6�2 during that span� Horn has coached 11 All-Summit League players, a pair of Summit League Players of the Year in Ciara Duffy (2020) and Chloe Lamb (2022)� Other all-league players include three-time first-team pick Allison Arens, three-time first-team pick Hannah Sjerven, three-time pick Liv Korngable and two-time pick Jasmine Trimboli� With defense a point of emphasis in the program, South Dakota picked up five straight Summit League Defensive Player of the Year nods from 2018-22, including Trimboli (2018), Arens (2019) and Sjerven (2020, 2021, 2022)� The Coyotes also led the league in scoring defense each season during that five-year stretch. Prior to his time in Vermillion, South Dakota, Horn spent three seasons (2013-16) at Ursuline College (Ohio)� The Arrows won the great Midwest Athletic Conference regular season and conference tournament to reach the 2016 NCAA Division II Tournament� Horn coached the guards, worked on player development, recruited back-to-back gMAC Freshman of the Year award winners, scouted opponents, organized travel, monitored academics and coordinated the team’s community outreach� Horn also brings coaching experience from the AAU level� He spent four years as the head coach for the Toledo Elite AAU Club and two years at the helm of the Cleveland Wolverines AAU Club� Horn led the Wolverines to two undefeated regular seasons and helped four players earn scholarships� Horn also has spent time during the summers as a coach/counselor at the University of Notre Dame’s women’s basketball camp, as well as working camps at Toledo and St� Francis High School� Horn earned his bachelor’s of business administration from Toledo in 2012�