Randa Gatling '99 has been on the Screaming Eagles coaching staff for 25 seasons. Gatling assists in all aspects of the USI Women's Basketball program. She works closely with game scouting, recruiting, player assessments, and works with the guards to develop on-the-court skill. Gatling was one of the top assistant coaches in Division II and longest tenured assistant women's basketball coach in the Great Lakes Valley Conference before Southern Indiana reclassified to NCAA Division I in 2022.
Gatling has been a major part of USI's success throughout the years, both as a player and as a coach. She has been a part of 548 victories, 448 as a coach and 100 as a player. In addition, Gatling has been a part of 11 NCAA II Tournament teams, two NCAA II Elite Eight squads, five GLVC championship teams, and an OVC championship team in 2023-24. Gatling has also helped coach five All-OVC performers since USI joined the Ohio Valley Conference in 2022.
At the beginning of the 2023-24 season, USI's second season at the NCAA Division I level, Gatling was elevated to associate head coach for the Screaming Eagles. Gatling helped lead Southern Indiana to a historical, championship season in 2023-24, as USI won the 2023-24 Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament championship titles. The two OVC championships were the first OVC team championships in USI Athletics history. By winning the OVC, Southern Indiana made its first-ever appearance in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The Screaming Eagles went 25-7 overall and 17-1 in conference play.
In a historic first season for USI in the Ohio Valley Conference and as an NCAA Division I program in 2022-23, Gatling helped coach the Screaming Eagles into a new era. In USI's first D-I season, the Screaming Eagles won 12 games overall, including the program's first six wins in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Her work on the bench during the previous 23 seasons paid off in the form of eight NCAA II Tournament appearances along with a regional championship, two GLVC regular-season championships and two GLVC Tournament titles. Gatling also has had a hand in the recruitment and development of three All-Americans, an Academic All-American, seven All-Region honorees and 31 All-GLVC performers.
In 2019-20, Gatling helped mold a young group of student-athletes into a top contender in the GLVC and an NCAA II Tournament qualifier.
After losing three All-GLVC players from the previous team along with more than 65 percent of the scoring output and nearly 75 percent of the rebounding totals, Gatling helped guide the 2019-20 squad through one of the toughest schedules in the nation to an 18-9 overall record and a 14-6 mark in league play. The Eagles were rewarded with the No. 2 seed in the GLVC Tournament along with a berth in the NCAA II Midwest Region Tournament.
Gatling was an assistant coach for the 2000-01 team that finished 28-4, the second-highest winning percentage in program history, earning the GLVC regular season and tournament championship. The squad won the Great Lakes Regional Championship on the road before advancing to the NCAA II Elite Eight. The team featured three 1,000 point career scorers. The 2000-01 team was inducted into the USI Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023.
In addition to her coaching duties, Gatling has served as USI's senior woman administrator. She also has helped coordinate USI Women's Basketball's community service involvement throughout the Evansville area, including work with Habitat for Humanity and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.
A native of Evansville, Indiana, Gatling started her career at Evansville Central High School. She served as the head coach for the first-ever Central girl’s freshman basketball team and was instrumental in its creation.
Gatling graduated from USI in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in social work.
During her playing days at USI, Gatling was a member of the 1997 NCAA Division II national finalist team, which was inducted into the USI Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012. Her play helped the Eagles to NCAA II Tournament appearances in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 as well as GLVC championships in 1995, 1997, and 1998. She was the team captain in 1997-98.
The Eagles were a dominating 100-16 (.862), including an amazing 67-9 (.881) in the GLVC, during Gatling's four years in an Eagle uniform.
