Georgia women’s basketball officially has its next head coach. The Bulldogs hired Ayla Guzzardo, the program announced Sunday afternoon.

“We are excited to welcome Ayla and her family to the University of Georgia,” athletic director Josh Brooks said in a statement put out by the school. “This is a great day for our women’s basketball program. When looking for the next head coach, our goal was to find someone who would connect with our fans, support our student-athletes and continue to build on the proud tradition of Lady Bulldog basketball. Ayla’s passion is unmatched. She is a proven winner and someone our fans will love following. We can’t wait for her to get started.”

Guzzardo, who spent one season at McNeese State, piloted the best single-season turnaround in NCAA Division I women’s basketball during 2025. She inherited a 10-win team and quickly improved it, leading the Cowgirls to a program-record 29 wins with a conference title.

Georgia parted ways with Katie Abrahamson-Henderson on Saturday. Abrahamson-Henderson went 69-59 in two seasons at Georgia, twice making it to the NCAA tournament. Georgia lost to Virginia in the first round of this year’s NCAA tournament in overtime.

At Georgia, Guzzardo will be tasked with keeping a roster together, as six of its top eight scorers already entered the transfer portal. That includes sophomores Mia Woolfolk and Trinity Turner, who returned to the Bulldogs after earning spots on the SEC All-Freshmen Team in 2024.

The other Bulldogs in the portal are sophomore guard — and leading scorer — Dani Carnegie, redshirt freshman forward Miyah Verse, junior guard Enjulina Gonzalez and freshman forward Zhen Craft.

“I want to thank President Morehead, Josh Brooks, Darrice Griffin and the entire Georgia family for entrusting me with this dream opportunity,” Guzzardo said in a statement. “To everyone at McNeese State, I cannot thank you enough for all your love and support during our time with you. Georgia is a special program that helped lay the foundation for the success of our sport. From Coach Landers to our great alumni and our passionate fan base, Lady Bulldog basketball has a storied history and is set up for continued excellence moving forward. I am humbled with the trust you have placed in me and look and forward to working with our staff and student-athletes to build special relationships with our students, this University and the Athens community. Go Dawgs!”

Guzzardo, who is a native of Hammond, Louisiana, began her coaching career at Akron University, her alma mater. She then returned to Louisiana after four seasons to coach high school.

Guzzardo joined the Southeastern Louisiana staff in 2016-17 as an assistant coach before earning the head role in 2017-18. She spent eight seasons there, averaging 22 wins over her final three years with two Southland Conference titles and a 47-9 record in conference play.

“We are delighted to welcome Coach Ayla Guzzardo to the University of Georgia,” University of Georgia President Jere W. Morehead said in a statement. “We take great pride in the tradition of our women’s basketball program, and we are excited about the future of Lady Bulldog basketball under her leadership. Coach Guzzardo brings a record of success and a strong commitment to student-athlete development, and we look forward to all she will accomplish in Athens.”

Georgia will officially introduce Guzzardo in a press conference this week.