Meg Barber Begins Role as Head Coach of U17 USA Women's Basketball Team
The countdown is underway for the start of the Women's Basketball U17 World Cup and New York University Head Coach Meg Barber is ready to get to work leading the squad.
"As practices get underway for the FIBA U17 World Championships, I am thrilled for the opportunity to work with great coaches, players and staff members," Barber said. "I am looking forward to the challenges ahead in facing the top global competition at this age level and to watch the growth of this team both on and off the court."
NYU's head coach since 2018, who led the Violets to the NCAA Division III National Championship in 2024, Barber begins her newest task with the U17 team in Colorado Springs, CO, with hopes of another championship, this time on an even bigger stage.
The World Cup takes place from July 13-21 in Irapuato and Leon, Mexico, with the team currently practicing in Colorado. This is Barber's second experience with USA Basketball after serving as a member of the coaching staff at the 2024 USA Junior National Team March minicamp in Portland, OR.
Barber is the second-ever NCAA Division III coach to lead the U17 Women's National Team's and the first in the history of NYU or the University Athletic Association (UAA).
Barber (NYU class of 2002) has posted a 119-21 (.850) record at her alma mater, including a perfect 31-0 mark while winning the national title and a third straight UAA title this past season. The 31-game winning streak is a program record, as is the 2,459 points the Violets scored in 2023-24.
Under Barber's guidance in '23-24, NYU ranked first in NCAA Division III in field goal percentage (49.0), third in three-point percentage (37.1), fourth in scoring margin (+26.1), and sixth in both blocks (6.2) and assists (18.5) per game. She and her assistants were named UAA Coaching Staff of the Year, while Barber was the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) Division III Coach of the Year and a finalist for Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) National Coach of the Year.
Barber's Violets reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in both 2022 and 2023.
A four-year member of the Violets' women's basketball team who is 10
th on the team's all-time scoring list with 1,228 points, Barber served as a captain during her senior campaign and was twice selected First Team All-UAA. The Violets earned postseason berths all four seasons, including two NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearances and two NY/NJ ECAC Championships. NYU rose to #1 in the national rankings during the 2000-01 season and posted an overall record of 93-18 during her career.
"We could not be more proud of Meg as she represents herself, her alma mater, and NYU basketball," said NYU's Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Janice Quinn, who coached Barber during her Violet career.
Following the FIBA U17 World Cup, Barber will continue her world travels when she takes the NYU women's basketball team to Shanghai, China, in August.