Just hours before giving birth to her son last month, University of Florida women’s basketball coach Kelly Rae Finley still had work to do.
With her team thousands of miles away in Indianapolis preparing for their WBIT semifinal game against the University of Minnesota, Finley, 39, was in a hospital bed in Gainesville, Florida, preparing to welcome her first baby. While in labor, Finley was made aware that one of her star players was in the process of being poached by another program.
So, Finley sprung into action and hopped onto a video call amid contractions to secure an NIL deal necessary to keep her player at Florida.
“I owe it to our student-athletes to put our best foot forward in terms of providing an experience to them that’s second-to-none,” Finley exclusively told Us Weekly. “I owe it to my partner and my family and my new son to give my best effort, as well. I was having contractions and I had this Zoom call and I was like, ‘I turned my camera off, guys.’ And we continued on our way.”
After successfully negotiating a deal with her representatives over the course of a 90-minute meeting, Finley and her fiancé, Shawn Wolf, welcomed son Laken on March 31.
Finley was pregnant throughout her team’s season, but despite all of the stress that comes with being a collegiate head coach Finley said those in her inner circle described her as “the most relaxed pregnant person.”
“I do feel like we were able to make the progress that needed to be made,” Finley said of the Gators’ season. “I don’t think [the pregnancy] was a distraction by any stretch of the imagination. I think for our student-athletes, if anything, it just proves to them that as a woman you can do it all.”
Finley’s sentiment was echoed by members of her team, who applauded her tenacity given all of the developments happening in her family off the court.
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“Coach Kelly’s Leadership and fight makes me want to be a better teammate and better player,” Florida guard Me’Arah O’Neal told Us. “Her dedication to her players and staff and her dedication to this program is inspiring in so many ways. She is a fierce competitor and through all of that she is the best coach anyone could ever ask for. She is kind, very genuine, very understanding, inspiring in so many ways.”
O’Neal, the 18-year-old daughter of NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, added, “I am more than grateful to be playing alongside her, and beyond grateful she gave me this opportunity.”
Florida guard Laila Reynolds agreed, saying Finley has “a deep commitment to this program that reflects her selflessness and who she is as a person.”
“She’s a coach who has never given up on me or my teammates,” Reynolds told Us. “She does everything and gives everything to help us find success in the program we’re building together.”
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