After the 2020-21 season, Baylor was looking for a new coach when Kim Mulkey went to LSU. The Bears set their eyes on Arizona’s Adia Barnes, who had just led her team to the national title game for the first time in program history. Arizona responded by giving Barnes her second raise within a few months, making her one of the few seven-figure coaches in women’s basketball.
Nicki Collen was hired as the Bears’ new head coach, lured from the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, which had just drafted former Arizona star Aari McDonald.