Dream hires women's D1 coach who only trails Geno Auriemma, Kim Mulkey in winning percentage

The Atlanta Dream announced that they have hired Karl Smesko as the team's new head coach. Smesko coached FGCU women's basketball and has the third-highest winning percentage among active coaches in NCAA Division 1 women's basketball history behind Geno Auriemma and Kim Mulkey.

Smekso issued a statement about taking the position.

"I am humbled and honored to be the head coach of the Atlanta Dream," Smesko said. "I am grateful for a remarkable 23 years at FGCU and will be forever indebted to the amazing women who have played for me, the incredible professionals who have coached with me, and the passionate fanbase who supported us along the way. I'm thankful to the leadership of the Atlanta Dream for their faith in me to lead this organization into the future and can't wait to get started."

As 23 years as a head coach, Smesko has a record of 611-110, and his teams have won 14 Atlantic Sun Conference regular season titles, 11 ASUN tournament championships, and made it to the NCAA tournament 10 times. Smesko led FGCU to 25 wins in 14 straight seasons, as UConn is the only team to do so.

After firing Tanisha Wright at the start of October, the Dream were looking for a coach who could complement the young players they have on the team. Smekso seems like the coach who can do that, and his system should fit well with the scorers that are already on the team.

Dream hire Karl Smesko as team's new head coach

The Dream have made the playoffs the past two seasons but were swept in the first round of the playoffs both times. Last season, they finished with a 15-25 record and faced the eventual WNBA champions, the New York Liberty. After firing Tanisha Wright at the end of the season, Dan Padover mentioned that in their search for a new head coach, they were looking for a new voice that could take the team to the next level.

When factoring in the new head coach, Padover also mentioned that Rhyne Howard is the star but also wanted to take into account the other young players on the team such as Allisha Gray, Haley Jones, and Naz Hillmon.

With Smesko's experience of building a winning culture, there's a good chance that he can turn things around for a team that clearly has the talent to win a lot of games and could make a deeper run in the playoffs.