Tasha Butts obit

Georgetown WCBB HC Tasha Butts Dies at Age 41 from Breast Cancer

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Georgetown women's basketball head coach Tasha Butts died Monday at the age of 41 after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

"I am heartbroken for Tasha's family, friends, players, teammates and colleagues," athletic director Lee Reed said in the school's announcement. "When I met Tasha, I knew she was a winner on the court, and an incredible person whose drive, passion and determination was second to none. She exhibited these qualities both as a leader and in her fight against breast cancer. This is a difficult time for the entire Georgetown community, and we will come together to honor her memory."

Butts was the associate head coach at Georgia Tech when the Hoyas hired her in April. Before entering the coaching ranks, she played collegiately at Tennessee and suited up for the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA.

The Volunteers and Yellow Jackets along with LSU, where Butts had been an assistant coach, mourned her death.

"The news of Tasha's passing is incredibly sad," Georgia Tech head coach Nell Fortner said. "Tasha was so instrumental to the success of this program. What she did as a member of this coaching staff cannot be overvalued. She was tough – tough on her kids, tough in her expectations, but yet she was soft underneath when players needed her to be there for them, and she was always there for them. We are incredibly sad this day has come. She battled from the day of her diagnosis. We are proud of her fight to the end. We will forever love Tasha. She will forever be missed."

While on the Yellow Jackets' staff, Butts announced she had been diagnosed with an advanced stage of breast cancer in November 2021. The phrase "Tasha Tough" became a rallying cry around women's basketball.

Georgetown announced in September that Butts was taking an indefinite leave of absence for health reasons. Associate head coach Darnell Haney, who was the head coach at Jacksonville for five years before joining the Hoyas in May, assumed the role of acting head coach, and the school confirmed Monday he will remain there for the upcoming season.

Georgetown is looking to improve on its 14-17 record from 2022-23. It tips off its campaign Nov. 6 against Maryland Eastern Shore.

“Tasha was a great player and went on to have a successful career as a coach too,” LSU Head Coach Kim Mulkey said. “More importantly, she had an impact on so many lives throughout her lifetime. We are sad to lose her at such a young age.”

Butts was diagnosed with advanced advanced stage metastatic breast cancer in 2021. Her diagnosis inspired the Tasha Tough campaign, which has brought awareness and raised money to bring quality care to women who can’t afford it through the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

“We are deeply saddened to hear of Tasha’s passing,” said LSU Associate Head Coach Bob Starkey who serves on the board of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. “The courage she displayed as she battled cancer should set an example for us all and her spirit should inspire us all to continue in her honor to work towards a cure for breast cancer.”

Prior to becoming the head coach at Georgetown, Butts was an assistant at Georgia Tech, LSU, UCLA and Duquesne.

Born on March 10, 1982, in Milledgeville, Georgia, Butts quickly ascended as a player. Attending Baldwin High School, she was a consensus all-American and Gatorade’s Player of the Year in Georgia. She remains the school’s all-time leading scorer and the school retired her No. 23 Jersey in December of 2000. In August 2004, the city of Milledgeville honored Butts with a key to the city and a proclamation of achievement on “Tasha Butts Day.”

Butts went on to have a successful career at Tennessee where she graduated in 2004 with a degree in sport management and a minor in business. As a Lady Vol, she was part of four SEC regular-season championship teams as Tennessee compiled a 55-1 SEC record during her four-year career. She left UT ranked fourth all-time in games played (141) and tied for seventh in three-point shots made (103). Butts’ career-high 37 points against Vanderbilt on Feb. 16, 2004, tied for 11th on the Lady Vols’ single-game scoring list.

The Lady Vols were 124-17 throughout her career in Knoxville. She ended her college career by capturing back-to-back NCAA national championships in 2003 and 2004. As a senior, Butts earned All-SEC second-team honors after averaging 10.4 points per game and ranking second in the league in three-point field goal percentage (43.0).

Butts went on to become the 20th selection in the 2004 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx. She saw action in 30 games as a rookie and helped the Lynx earn a playoff berth. She played through the 2008 season as she made her transition to coaching.

During the 2007-08 season, Butts served as an assistant coach at Duquesne University where her responsibilities included recruiting, opponent scouting, academics, equipment liaison, scheduling and development of perimeter players.

She went on to have three successful seasons as an assistant coach at UCLA (2008-2011). The Bruins reached the NCAA Tournament twice, compiling a 72-26 overall mark and second-place finishes in the Pac-10 Conference in both 2010 and 2011. The 2010-11 season was one for the record books as the Bruins set records for regular-season victories (26), Pac-10 win (16) and scoring defense (55.3 points per game), while earning a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

At UCLA, Butts mentored eight All-Pac-10 academic players, three All-Pac-10 honorees and two All-Pac-10 freshman team selections. In 2011, the program rose to a No. 7 national ranking, reached the Pac-10 Tournament Championship game and advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round, finishing the season with a 29-5 overall record.

The came Butts’ stint in Baton Rouge. During her eight seasons at LSU, Butts was part of four 20-win seasons and six NCAA Tournament appearances highlighted by back-to-back Sweet 16 runs in 2012 and 2013. She helped ink three top-20 recruiting classes (2011, 2017, 2019), while signing seven top-100 prospects. In eight seasons at LSU, Butts coached and mentored six all-SEC academic honor roll recipients and developed seven all-SEC selections.

At LSU, Butts helped develop Raigyne Moncrief-Louis and Danielle Ballard, who both garnered SEC All-Freshman team honors in their careers and were listed among LSU’s top 10 for scoring during their freshmen seasons. Louis would become the 2017 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time all-SEC honoree. The only player in LSU history to record 1,600 points, 700 rebounds, 250 steals and 300 assists in a career, Louis was a 2018 WNBA Draft pick.

Under Butts’ guidance, Ballard broke LSU’s single-season record for steals (100) and became the first player in program history – men or women – to reach 100 steals in a season in 2012-13. Louis would top Ballard four seasons later with a program-record 107 steals.

Butts helped guide Georgia Tech to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament, most recently earning an at-large bid in 2021-22. During that season, the Yellow Jackets spent 14 weeks in the national rankings, climbing as high as No. 11 in the Associated Press poll. A marquee win for GT during the season took place on Dec. 9, 2021, when the Jackets upended No. 3/2 UConn, 57-44, to snap a 240-game winning streak against unranked opponents.

In 2020-21, Butts helped guide the Yellow Jackets to a 17-9 overall record and a 12-6 ledger in the Atlantic Coast Conference to finish third and ranked No. 22 in the final USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll during a global pandemic. In its historic season, Tech made its 10th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history. Working primarily with the guards, Butts helped tutor Lotta-Maj Lahtinen to become the ACC Most Improved Player.

In her first season on The Flats, Butts helped the Yellow Jackets to a 20-11 overall record, 10-8 in the ACC. Tech defeated four top-25 teams in 2019-20, including topping No. 4 NC State on the road, 65-61, to mark the highest ranked road win in program history. The Yellow Jackets were awaiting their postseason bid when the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She joined the Georgia Tech women’s basketball staff as an assistant coach in April 2019, and was promoted to associate head coach in April 2021.

Butts was named as Georgetown’s head coach earlier this year in April. In September, the school announced that Butts would be taking time away from the team to focus on her health in her ongoing battle against Breast cancer.

She is survived by her parents Spencer, Sr. and Evelyn, her brother Spencer, Jr. and her nephew Marquis along with an extended family and the entire women’s basketball community.