Following a two-week period filled with departures and arrivals, Maryland women’s basketball announced that the standard-bearer of its program will stay a Terp for many years to come.

Twenty years and 15 days after she was first introduced to the press as Maryland’s head coach, Brenda Frese agreed to a contract extension with the school that will keep her in College Park through the 2028-29 season, the team announced Tuesday.

“Super grateful, obviously, to our administration and president,” Frese told the Diamondback. “Just that continued support … to continue, to know how much you’re wanted here and just to be supported behind it.”

The deal includes a $300,000 raise for the first year, bumping up Frese’s base salary to about $1.7 million dollars. That figure will increase to $1.8 million starting in the second year of her contract, according to open records requests filed by The Baltimore Sun.

[Angel Reese enters transfer portal in major blow to Maryland women’s basketball]

The monetary changes come a year after Frese signed a six-year deal that included an additional one-year extension. That contract, with a base salary of $1.4 million, would’ve kept Frese with the Terps until the 2026-2027 season.

“[The athletic department] support us to the highest level,” Frese said last year when she signed the extension. “There’s no coincidence when you have the right formula and the right support, that Maryland should be a dominant program and should be a lasting program.”

The announcement also comes during a tumultuous spring for the program that saw five players enter the transfer portal, including the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked players in The Athletic’s ranking of players in the portal, Angel Reese and Ashley Owusu.

Despite that, the Terps continued their commitment to Frese — and with good reason. She’s one of just three coaches that have won the AP Coach of the Year award twice, winning it in 2002 and 2021.

[Maryland women’s basketball’s Ashley Owusu and Taisiya Kozlova entering transfer portal]

In her 20 years, Maryland has reached 18 NCAA tournaments, 10 Sweet 16’s, six Elite Eights, three Final Fours, and won one national championship. Sixteen Terps have been drafted into the WNBA. 

Her 535 wins at Maryland make her the winningest coach in program history. Her career winning percentage of .777 is the highest of all Big Ten men’s and women’s basketball coaches.