Bio

Terence McCutcheon enters his fifth full season as Head Women's Basketball Coach at Catawba College in the fall of 2024.

McCuthcheon and the Catawba Indians picked up where they left off from a historic 2022-23 season with the outright South Atlantic Conference regular season title and the number one seed in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional for the second straight season. McCutcheon also repeated as SAC Coach of the Year, while Lyrik Thorne claimed both SAC Player of the Year and SAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in addition to Southeast Region Player of the Year and First Team All-America recognition from D2CCA for the program's all-time leading scorer.

The 2022-23 season saw Catawba Women's Basketball soar to new heights, as the team won its first-ever Southeast Regional Championship and advanced to the national semifinal for the first time in program and SAC history. The team won a program-record 29 games, including a perfect 18-0 at Goodman Gym. McCutcheon earned South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year honors, while Lyrik Thorne claimed SAC Player of the Year accolades while setting the single-season program points record. Catawba claimed the SAC Piedmont Division title and earned the number one seed in the Regional for the first time ever.

Catawba knocked off UNC Pembroke and Clayton State in the 2023 Southeast Regional before utilizing a second-half comeback to defeat Georgia Southwestern in the title game, advancing to the school's first Elite Eight in St. Joseph, Mo. While in Missouri, 6-seed Catawba upended 3-seed and 8th-ranked nationally Cal St.-Dominguez Hills to advance to the Final Four, where they fell to eventual runner-up 2-seed Minnesota-Duluth. Catawba was ranked No. 6 in the ABCA end-of-season poll, the highest ranking in program history.

McCutcheon led the Lady Indians to a 23-7 record and set a new program record for the most conference wins in a season with 19 in 2021-22. McCutcheon helped lead the women's basketball program to the NCAA Southeast Regional, and the SAC Conference Tournament Semifinal while also coaching the program's first-ever Defensive Player of the Year, Shemya Stanback. 

In his first full season as head coach, McCutcheon navigated a season fully affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite playing just 15 games on the season, Catawba advanced to the Southeast Regional, where it earned its first regional win in program history with a win over host #14 Carson-Newman.

While in Salisbury, McCutcheon has coached eight All-SAC performers including First Team honorees Taisha DeShazo (2020), Shemya Stanback (2021) and Lyrik Thorne (2023). Thorne was named the program's 1st First Team All-Region selection, while earning SAC Player of the Year, Regional Most Outstanding Player and DII All-Tournament Team honors.

McCutcheon took over as the Head Women's Basketball Coach at Catawba College mid-year in February of 2020.

McCutcheon came to Catawba after serving has the Head Boys Basketball Coach at Morgan City High School in Morgan City, Louisiana. During his tenure at Morgan City, McCutcheon helped lead the team to a district championship with a record of 25-7.  He was also named District 7-4A’s Coach of the Year while coaching four of his athletes to all-district honors. 

Prior to coaching at Morgan City High School, McCutcheon has coached both boys and girls on the high school and collegiate levels. His most recent college experience was as an Assistant Men’s Basketball coach at Newberry College in 2014-2015. 

In the fall of 2012, McCutcheon had the opportunity to start an athletic program at J.S. Clark Leadership Academy in Opelousas, Louisiana.  For two years at J.S. Clark, McCutcheon served as the Athletic Director, Head Boys Basketball Coach, and Head Girls Basketball coach. He served as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Caldwell Community College in 2011.  McCutcheon also served as the Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach at LSU @ Eunice from 2004-2006.  During his time at LSU@ Eunice, the teams advanced to the regional playoffs.

McCutcheon hails from Mobile, Alabama, where he graduated from John L. Leflore High School in 1997. During his senior year, he helped the varsity basketball team to a semi-final finish with a record of 33-3.  He earned Regional MVP, second team All-State, and first team All-Mobile Press Register honors during his senior year. 

After graduating from high school, McCutcheon played at the College of Southern Idaho. He helped the team to a regular season championship and a 28-4 record.  After one season, McCutcheon transferred to Nicholls State University. He would spend the next two years at Nicholls State University before transferring to Pfeiffer for his final season. At Pfeiffer, he was named the MVP of the Bobby Lutz Thanksgiving Tournament as well as the team’s MVP. 

McCutcheon earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management from Pfeiffer University in 2002. He has two children, Malachi and Trinady.