RuthSinnbuilta nationally-respected Division III program over her first 16seasons, and now she's busy leading her program's historic transition into Division I basketball.
Sinn, whocoached her 500th game with the Tommies last season,is entering her 19th yearas head coachof St. Thomas women's basketball team in 2023-24. Thatputs her second in tenure among the nine Summit league head coaches at their schools, and tied for 22ndamong all D-I women's basketball coaches.
Sinn'sbasketball playing success here from 1980-84 led to her induction into the Tommie Athletics Hall of Fame. Shejoins Tommie men's hoops head coach Johnny Tauerto put St. Thomas on a short list of onlyfive D-I institutions with alumniin both of their basketballhead coaching roles.
Sinn’s Tommies took a big step forward during the 2022-23 season. In moving from eightwins in season one to 13 victories last season, the Purple hada strong finish to the season that included the program’s first NCAA Division I postseason victory.The Toms' national rating by Sports Reference improved 67 spots from 300 at the end of 2021-22 to 233 at the end of 2022-23, in the top 10-percent of improvement among all D-I WBB programs.
Picked for ninth place in the conference preseason poll, it won seven league games, one victory shy of fifth place.It posted the fourth best won-loss record among the 11 schools currently reclassifying into Division I. It won five of its last seven games, including the first D-I postseason game played, a defeat of Western Illinois... Its roster had 11 of its 14 players in their first or second year of college eligibility... In its final home game, it upset CBI tourney qualifier North Dakota, a 19-win team. It posted the program's first D-I defeats of South Dakota, North Dakota, Oral Roberts and Kansas City. It also lost by just eight points at Wisconsin, and fell by just 12 at 23-win, NIT qualifier Northern Iowa.Overall it lost six games by six or less points, including three overtime losses on the road...
St. Thomas recorded a 61-50 win over Western Illinois during the first round of the Summit League Championships. The Tommies recorded their first weekend sweep Jan. 12 and 14 against Kansas City and Oral Roberts, before completing the team’s first season series sweeps over UMKC and ORU to begin its strong finish to the regular season. St. Thomas capped its regular season with a double-digit comeback victory over North Dakota, 74-68, on senior day. Maggie Negaard completed her two-year career with the Tommies as an All-Summit League Second Team selection, finishing the season 15th in the country in 3-point percentage. The Tommies totaled four selections to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team in Negaard, Phoebe Frentzel, Jade Hill and Jordyn Lamker.
In 2021-22, Sinn guided the inaugural Division I season for Tommie women's basketball, leading the team to a 7-21 record, and a 4-14 mark within the Summit League. The team's first Division I victory came at South Carolina State on Nov. 18 in a 65-50 effort. The first Summit League victory for St. Thomas came at home against Denver on Dec. 22, an eight-point win, 56-48. The Tommies concluded their first Division I season with a 61-56 road win at Omaha. Under Sinn's tutelage, freshman Jade Hill and graduate transfer Erin Norling were named to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team.
Sinn's 355-88record at the Division III level with St. Thomasincludeda remarkable 250-31mark (.890) from 2010-21. That wasthe best current 10-year win-percentage run of any MIAC sports program. In that span, Sinn guided three teams to the NCAA Final Four, and three others to the Sweet Sixteen round of the playoffs. Those tenseasons included Tommie Women's Hoops taking home 13 of a possible 18 MIAC championships (regular-season and playoffs). She has been named Region Coach of the Year twice and MIAC Coach of the Year four times. In 2011-12, she was named MIAC and West Region Coach of the Year and was a finalist for National Coach of the Year.
Sinn was inducted into the Minnesota State Girls Basketball Coaches' Association Hall of Fame in 2002, and has served on the Minnesota Ms. Basketball Committee since 1988. She has 15 former players now involved in teaching and/or coaching at various levels.
Sinn also served as an assistant coach in summer 2019 for the USA Basketball Women's 16U team that won a FIBA Americas gold medal with a 6-0 run in Chile.Sinn's 30-plus year coaching career included16 seasons as head coach at Apple Valley High School. Her Apple Valley teams played in three state tournaments and won eight section championships, while compilinga 290-170 record. She was a five-time section Coach of the Year. She coached 12 All-State honorees, including 1990 Ms. Basketball winner Carol Ann Shudlick, who later won college basketball's Wade Trophy in 1994 as a senior with the Minnesota Gophers. Sinn also was head coach at Hill-Murray from 1987-89 and was an assistant coach at Woodbury (1984-85) and Hill-Murray (1985-87).
Sinn, a North St. Paul native, played on the Tommies' first two conference championship teams and helped build an 80-36 won-loss record from 1980-84. As a senior, she played on St. Thomas' first NCAA playoff team and led the squad in steals and assists. She ranks in UST's top-12 in career steals, assists, and blocked shots. She was among the first seven females inducted into UST's Athletic Hall of Fame, back in 1992.
Ruth Sinn Year-By-Year
