Super League Basketball is delighted to announce the winner of the Molten Betty Codona Coach of the Year award for the 2025/26 season, following a voting process involving the League’s Head Coaches and Captains.
B. Braun Sheffield Hatters play-caller Vanessa Ellis takes home this year’s prize. Sheffield have stormed to three titles from three so far this season, and have the chance to secure a historic quadruple on Sunday when they compete for the Play-off title at The O2, London, against the Caledonia Gladiators.
This is Ellis’ second success in this award, and her first since the 2014/15 season, and the Hatters Head Coach becomes only the second in Women’s League history to win the title multiple times, after former Sevenoaks play-called Len Busch.
Reflecting on winning the award, Coach Ellis said:
“It is fantastic to win this award. It is a fitting recognition of the team’s performances this season. As a coach you work hard whether you’re winning or losing, but you don’t always get recognised, so it is great to be recognised in this instance, but without the players and staff around it none of it would happen and I’m grateful to them for this.
“There are great coaches across the league. Not everybody sees what goes on behind the scenes and the hard work that is done there. The team have put a lot of good results together through adversity, and they’ve shown resilience and togetherness to do the best we can do. Our success has been about everybody pulling together for the good of the team.
“It has been a really competitive league this year. Everybody has had their own runs where they’ve been playing well and looking very competitive, and thankfully since Christmas we’ve been really strong, but we’ve had to be prepared every week as best we can because everybody is working hard to make SLB very competitive and enjoyable for fans to watch.”
Hatters General Manager Natasha Clark added:
“As General Manager of the B. Braun Sheffield Hatters, I am delighted to congratulate Vanessa Ellis on being named Molten Betty Codona Coach of the Year.
“This is a richly deserved recognition of Vanessa’s outstanding leadership, professionalism, and commitment to excellence. She has played a pivotal role in our success on the court while continuing to build a strong, values-driven culture within the club.
“Vanessa’s ability to develop players and bring the team together is exceptional, and this award reflects the respect she has earned across the league. We are incredibly proud to have her leading the Hatters congratulations, Vanessa.”
You can see the full voting record for the Molten Betty Codona Coach of the Year below.
Voters were asked to choose their top candidate for this award, with the most selections overall securing the title.
| Voter | Position | Club | Selection |
| Tierra Hodges | Captain | Caledonia Gladiators | Vanessa Ellis |
| Chantelle Handy | Coach | Caledonia Gladiators | Vanessa Ellis |
| Emma Bailey | Captain | Cardiff Met Archers | Kyla Nelson |
| Stef Collins | Coach | Cardiff Met Archers | Vanessa Ellis |
| Claire Paxton | Captain | Essex Rebels | Kyla Nelson |
| Ashley Cookson | Coach | Essex Rebels | Vanessa Ellis |
| Brooke Biggott | Captain | Leicester Riders | Kyla Nelson |
| Nick Moodey | Coach | Leicester Riders | Vanessa Ellis |
| Macy Spinks | Captain | London Lions | Vanessa Ellis |
| Kyla Nelson | Coach | London Lions | Chloe Gaynor |
| Maaja Bratka | Captain | Manchester Basketball | Kyla Nelson |
| Oli Parr | Coach | Manchester Basketball | Kyla Nelson |
| Zoe Willis | Captain | Newcastle Eagles | Vanessa Ellis |
| Chloe Gaynor | Coach | Newcastle Eagles | Kyla Nelson |
| Alice Fallon | Captain | Nottingham Wildcats | Vanessa Ellis |
| Karen Burton | Coach | Nottingham Wildcats | Vanessa Ellis |
| Shanice Beckford-Norton | Captain | Oaklands Wolves | Kyla Nelson |
| Lee Ryan | Coach | Oaklands Wolves | Vanessa Ellis |
| Georgia Gayle | Captain | Sheffield Hatters | Kyla Nelson |
| Vanessa Ellis | Coach | Sheffield Hatters | Stef Collins |
Further end-of-season award winners will be announced in the coming days and don’t forget you can watch all the action from Sunday’s season-ending Play-off Final at The O2, London, and stay up to date via our social media channels by clicking here.