Charli Turner Thorne

As of June 18, 2009

The winningest coach in Arizona State University history and No. 4 in the Pacific-10 Conference in career wins, Charli Turner Thorne returns to USA Basketball in her first head coach position. In 2007 she traveled to Moscow, Russia, as an assistant coach with the 2007 USA Women's U21 National Team and helped the USA to an 8-0 record and gold medal. The U.S. also posted a 3-0 exhibition slate versus France's U21 national team prior to the competition.

'I'm very honored and excited to have been selected to coach such a prestigious team,' Turner Thorne said. 'Two years ago I had my first coaching opportunity with USA Basketball and had a tremendous experience working with the players and staff. I am looking forward to representing my country and Arizona State University. I feel very fortunate that I'll get to work with an outstanding coaching staff. As I have learned at ASU, it is great when you can have head coaches working with you and I know I will learn a lot from both Suzy and Julie.'

At the helm of the Sun Devils since 1996-97, Turner Thorne has posted a 251-154 slate (.612 winning percentage) in her 13 seasons in Tempe, Ariz. She has led Arizona State to the NCAA Tournament seven times in the past nine years, including the past five seasons. Overall, in 16 seasons as a head coach, Turner Thorne owns a 291-194 record (.600 winning percentage).

Most recently, Turner Thorne's 2008-09 squad compiled a 26-9 record, reached the Elite Eight for the second time in the past three seasons and earned a No. 12 rank in the final USA Today/ESPN poll. With 26 wins, Turner Thorne joined former Washington head coach Chris Gobrecht and current Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer as the only coaches in Pac-10 history (since 1986-87) to have led their respective schools to at least five consecutive 20-win seasons.

Turner Thorne has achieved several milestones with ASU. In 2006-07, she not only piloted her squad to a 31-5 mark, but the team's 16-2 tally in the Pacific-10 Conference set an ASU record for conference victories and its No. 8 rank in the final USA Today/ESPN coaches poll and No. 10 rank in the final Associated Press poll was the highest final ranking in both polls in school history.

In 2005-06, Turner Thorne finished the season with a 25-7 record and posted a school-record 10-game winning streak. That team, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round, also broke into the top 10 in the national polls for the first time in 22 years, tying the school's best ranking at No. 9 in early January. For her efforts, Turner Thorne was honored as the Russell Athletic/WBCA Region 8 Coach of the Year.

In 2004-05 her squad capped the season with a 24-10 record and advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1983. The 2001-02 version of the Sun Devils reached 25 wins (25-9), an effort previously accomplished only once (1981-82) in ASU history, and captured the inaugural Pac-10 Tournament title.
Additionally, in her first 20-win season, the 2000-01 Sun Devils finished at 20-11, and tied for first in the league standings with a 12-6 mark to take a share of the program's first Pac-10 championship.

Turner Thorne spent three seasons (1993-94 to 1995-96) as the head coach at Northern Arizona University. Compiling an even 40-40 record overall, in her final two years she became the first coach in school history to string together a pair of winning seasons.

She broke into the coaching ranks as a graduate assistant at the University of Washington. During her two seasons (1988-89 and 1989-90) at UW, the Huskies compiled a 51-13 record (.797 winning percentage), tied for a share of the 1989 Pac-10 title, competed in a pair of NCAA Tournaments and advanced to the 1989 NCAA Sweet Sixteen and the 1990 Elite Eight, posting a 28-3 record on the year.

Following her stint at Washington, Turner Thorne spent three years as an assistant coach at Santa Clara University, where she aided the program to a 68-22 slate (.756 winning percentage), the 1991 WNIT title, a share of three West Coast Conference titles, the 1992 WCC Tournament championship and the 1992 NCAA second round.