NCAA Basketball Academy

Alex Moorehead is in his third year as head coach of the Ave Maria women's basketball program. Moorhead was honored as the 2021 Sun Conference Coach of the Year, NAIA Region 6 Coach of the Year, and a finalist for NAIA National Coach of the Year. Moorehead has guided the Gyrenes to success, notably in 2022-23, leading Ave Maria back to the semifinals of The Sun Conference Tournament. Ave Maria increased their win total to 18, a mark that included a 12-3 record on their home court. The 18 wins included a victory over nationally-ranked Southeastern, ending a regular season conference winning streak of 108 games. Before his time at Ave Maria, Moorhead served as the women’s basketball head coach at Deer Creek High School in Edmond, Oklahoma. During his time with the school, he coached three McDonald’s All-Americans and guided his team to a state tournament berth in the 2019-20 season. Prior to his tenure at Deer Creek, Moorhead made coaching stops at California State University Maritime, Bishop Mcguiness Catholic High School and Oklahoma City University. Catholic High School in Oklahoma City from 2014-16. Moorehead also spent the 2012-13 season as a men’s basketball volunteer assistant coach at Oklahoma City University.

Alishia Mosley enters another season as the Cheyney University women's basketball Head Coach. Mosley had the benefit of a full season of recruiting, after being hired in March of 2022. Coach Mosley came to Cheyney after being an assistant coach for both men's and women's basketball at Lincoln University of PA and Women's basketball at Fayetteville State. Her passion for the sport of basketball spreads quickly. Coach Mosley's goal is to create a student-athlete that is prepared for both life on and off the court. Coach Mosley developed, and implemented, a scouting analytics process for coaching staff and student athletes to use and helped to guide the Lady Lions to the most wins in program history, with several players earning all CIAA honors. Mosley has also operated a skills program to help develop high school, college and professional players, and has spearheaded basketball camps. Mosley began coaching at Fayetteville State University in NC, as a graduate assistant on the women’s basketball staff in 2017 and earned a master’s degree in Business Administration Concentration Management in 2019. During Mosley's two seasons as a coach, the Broncos won the Southern Division of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association back-to-back times. The Broncos' defense finished third in the CIAA and 24th overall among NCAA Division II teams in 2018–19.

Allison Nichols was introduced as the sixth head women's basketball coach in program history on May 23, 2021.Nichols came to Lynchburg from Old Dominion Athletic Conference rival Roanoke College, where she served as the Maroons’ associate head coach since 2017 and helped steer the Maroons to an ODAC runner-up finish in 2021. Lynchburg defeated Roanoke in the title game. In her first season at the helm of the Hornets, Nichols' team posted a 16-11 record, reaching the ODAC tournament semifinals with a first-round upset win over Roanoke. A graduate of Bridgewater College, Nichols brings a wealth of coaching experience at numerous levels of college basketball with her to Lynchburg. Prior to her stop at Roanoke, Nichols spent six seasons as the head coach at Randolph College in Lynchburg from 2010-16. She coached a pair of All-ODAC players for the Wildcats and led the program to its two highest win totals in program history. Nichols was the director of basketball operations at NCAA Division I East Carolina University from 2008-10 and an assistant at Division II Augusta State University from 2006-08. Nichols holds a degree in physical education and health science from Bridgewater and a master's in kinesiology and health science from Augusta State.

Kuiper will serve his first year as an assistant coach for North Carolina Wesleyan University for the 2024-25 season. Kuiper brings eight years of experience to the program and has proven to be a respected mentor within the basketball community. Recently serving as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Cairn University in Pennsylvania, he orchestrated a remarkable turnaround for the program and improved the team’s win total by twelve in a single season. During the 2023-24 season, the Highlanders reached the conference tournament semifinals of the United East Conference and also had the UEC Skye Division Rookie of the Year. In the same season, Kuiper was named the conference's coach of the year for his efforts in orchestrating the remarkable turnaround. Kuiper spent the 2021-2022 season at Division II Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, NC as the Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach. Kuiper’s main responsibilities included skill development (both guards & posts), scouting, community outreach, fundraising and recruiting. That season the Lady Falcons were able to achieve second seed in the CIAA Southern Division. Kuiper was also able to assist freshman standout Lauren Banks in achieving All-CIAA Rookie Team mention.

Amani was serving as an Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach for Kentucky State University, until she was recently promoted to Head Coach in October of 2023. In her first full season as a head coach, Amani Williams was named SIAC Coach of the Year, where she finished the regular season 19-6 (.760) and 15-4 (.789) and earned the 2023-24 SIAC Regular Season West Division Title. She kept her team ranked on the Division II College Sports Communicators South peaking at fourth in the South Region Media Poll. Williams is a native of Scotch Plains, New Jersey; as she was also a graduate of Kentucky State University in 2020. Williams played two seasons; (2018-2020) at Kentucky State where she finished 8th in career assists (160) and the 2019 SIAC Women's Basketball Championship Runner-Up. Prior to joining Kentucky State, Williams played for Monroe College where she averaged 13.0 points and 4.4 rebounds with 118 assists. She received awards for being the best free throw shooter and made Second Team NJCAA All-Academic Second Team and received her AA in Sports Management.

Coach Amy Donovan is entering her third season as the head coach of the Nanooks women’s basketball program. Donovan has 10+ years of experience coaching basketball. Before joining the Nanooks, Donovan spent the previous four seasons with Weber State as the women’s basketball assistant coach. There, her responsibilities were recruiting and initial eligibility, fundraising, and event management. Donovan was tasked as a liaison with the marketing and community service, seeing a ticket sales increase of 24% from 2018-2020 and a 521% community service hour increase from 2018-2021. Prior to her head coaching experience, Donovan focused her coaching on individual skill development at Holy Names Academy, A PLUS Youth Basketball, Pete Newell Tall Women’s Camps, and Battle Ground High School. In addition to that, Donovan was a Division-I defensive coordinator at Northern Arizona University, and a head coach at the junior college and Division-II levels.

After spending the 2019-2020 season with the Lady Rockets as an interim coach, Aramie Brooks was named head coach in 2021. During his first season with the Rockets, Brooks led his program to a Regional Championship with a win over Northwest Arkansas with a final score of 76-53. In the 2023-2024 season the Rockets went 21-3 overall and 9-0 in conference play. In the 2024 NJCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship the Rockets won a consolation game beating Mid-Michigan with a score of 69-39, later ending their season in a seventh-place semifinal against Pima. Aramie Brooks started his college career playing basketball at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith where they were ranked top ten in the country. After completing his two years at Arkansas Fort Smith, Brooks played Division I basketball at Northwestern State University. Brooks graduated from Northwestern State University with a bachelor’s degree in 2010, later being drafted to an NBL-Canada team in 2011. After the 2011 season, Brooks went on to play in the Dominican Republic, Columbia, Peru, Uruguay, and Argentina.

In his 11th season, Broderick led Christopher Newport to an overall record of 255-43, for a winning percentage of 85.6 percent. In 2022-2023, Broderick’s program earned the No. 1 national ranking for the first time in program history and carried it through an undefeated season to the NCAA Division III National Championship Game. In the 2022-2023 season the Captains would finish as National Runner-Up and with a program-record 31-1 overall record. The record-breaking season would also include the most points scored, three-pointers, and assists in a single season. For his efforts, Broderick was named D3hoops.com National Co-Coach of the Year, sharing the honor with Transylvania’s Jili Fulks. Post-season play is nothing new for Broderick’s program as they have also made appearances in the Final Four in 2017, and Elite Eight appearance during the 2023 tournament, and Sweet 16 finishes in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022. Before Broderick's tenure at Christopher Newport University, he spent time as an assistant coach at three Division I programs including the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Arizona, and Bucknell University. Broderick is a native of Vienna, Va. and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education in 1993 from Frostburg State University where he continued to earn a Master of education in health and physical education. He now resides in Yorktown with his wife Jennifer and his two children Cole and Laney.

Britni Mohney was named Penn College’s head women’s basketball coach in 2019 where she has spent the past four seasons leading the Wildcats. Mohney coached Penn College to consecutive seven-win seasons during her first two seasons in Williamsport - which was Penn College's second highest win total since joining the NCAA in 2014. Mohney guided the Wildcats to their first-ever United East playoff berth in 2022-23 after a 10-win regular season and coached a United East second team selection. Prior to Penn College, Mohney spent the five years as the head coach at Salem College, an all-women’s college in Winston Salem, N.C. Mohney mentored the conference player of the year in 2014-15 and guided her team to regular season championships in 2015 and 2016. Mohney’s teams reached the postseason in four of her five seasons in Winston Salem. Mohney earned her Bachelor of Arts in Managerial Economics from Allegheny College and received her MBA from Utica College in Economics Crime and Fraud Management

Brittany Batts is a former Gannon University Women’s Basketball player, who has now joined her old coach on the staff, Coach Cleve Wright. She joined the staff in the Summer of 2021 and was a Golden Knights player from 2011-2015. She started her coaching career soon as she finished school, as she was a graduate assistant at Castleton University in Vermont from 2015-2017. After Castleton, she did one full season as an assistant coach at Bridgewater College, then was at Shepard University for two seasons. Batts has already worked as an assistant coach at Division I, II, and III levels while in the early stages of her coaching career. She joins the Lady Knights after working as an assistant at Division I Chicago State last year. Batts graduated from Gannon University in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in sports management with a minor in advertising communication. She was a four -year player and three-year starter for the Lady Knights from 2011-15, appearing in 125 career games with 92 starts. Batts averaged 9.2 points over her career and finished with 1,152 points, good for 20th currently in career scoring. She helped lead the Golden Knights to a 102-24 record over the four seasons, while making the NCAA Postseason all four times. They would go on to win the Atlantic Regional in 2013, which earned them a berth in the Elite Eight.

Coach Brittany Christian was hired on to be the Paris Junior College Head Women’s Basketball coach back in the summer of 2021. Last season was a tough season for the Lady Dragons, as they finished with an overall 9-22 record, and a 5-12 conference record. Christian comes to PJC after serving as assistant women’s basketball coach at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind. Prior to that she was assistant coach for two seasons at Delaware State University, where she was part of a resurgence of their program which was among the top 75 recruiting class in the country. Brittany was the head coach of Northwest Kansas Technical College in 2017-2018, where they had a 20-11 record. She was an assistant coach for Northwest Kansas the year before becoming the head coach. She began her coaching career as an assistant at St. Paul’s College in Virginia and later served as a graduate assistant coach/assistant to the athletic director at Virginia State University. Williams graduated from Baltimore Polytech High School and played college basketball for four years at St. Paul’s College in Virginia, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 2009. Christian earned her Master’s in Sports Management from Virginia State in 2012.

Cleve Wright will be entering his 16th overall season as Gannon’s Head Women’s Basketball coach, with this being his second stint as head coach for the Golden Knights. Wright served as the Gannon women’s basketball head coach from 2002-13, before taking over as the head coach at NCAA Division I Miami (Ohio) from 2013-17 and as an associate head coach at NCAA Division I Eastern Illinois in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. Wright departed Gannon in April 2013 as the school’s all-time winningest basketball coach regardless of gender at the time. He has done nothing but add to that legacy since returning in 2019. After winning 233 games in 11 seasons in his first stint, he has gone 91-19 since returning to boost his record in 15 seasons at Gannon to 324-119. Wright has 34 years of college coaching experience, including three seasons (1999-02) as the top assistant at Division I Northwestern of the Big 10 Conference. The Women’s Basketball Journal named Wright one of the top 25 assistant coaches in Division I during the fall of 2002. He was an assistant coach at Colleges and Universities such as Butler, Duke, and Northwestern. Wright received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989 from Berea (Ky.) College. He was a two-sport athlete, competing in both basketball and track. He earned his master’s degree in Athletics Administration from Ball State in 1992.

Darrick Matthews will join the Southern Arkansas University Mulerider Women’s Basketball program as the new head coach for the upcoming 2024-25 seasons. Matthews brings ten years of highly successful head coaching experience and 185 career wins to Magnolia. Matthews comes to Southern Arkansas after a highly impressive nine-year run as head coach at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. During his time directing the Drovers, Matthews accumulated 167 wins which included seven-consecutive winning seasons from 2017-18 through the 2023-24 campaign. Within that run is six-straight seasons of 20 or more victories and a USAO program record 29 wins during his third year in Chickasha. As a head coach, Matthews recruited and mentored nine NAIA All-Americans with eight of those receiving WBCA All-American honors, three NAIA Academic All-Americans, twenty-five all-conference performers and seven superlative award winners including four SAC Defensive Players of the Year, the 2019 SAC Player of the Year and the 2021 SAC Newcomer of the Year. Additionally, thirty-one student-athletes earned placement on the SAC Commissioner Honor Roll (3.25 GPA) and thirteen were named NAIA Scholar-Athletes (3.5 GPA). Before becoming the head coach of SCU’s women’s program, Matthews served as an assistant coach for the men’s program during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons where he mentored 2013 NAIA Dunk Champion and former Harlem Globetrotter Tyler Inman.

Head Coach Darryl Watkins just completed his fourth season in charge of the RVC women’s basketball program in 2023-24, which they have posted a 105-29 record over the past 4 years. Rock Valley College has also had a lot of success against conference opponents during this time, as they have only lost one conference game during his tenure. Also, over the past 4 seasons the Golden Eagles have been a problem on their home floor, posting a 61-8 record during this time. Watkins and the Golden Eagles followed up the 2023 campaign with a historic 2023-24 season. During the year Rock Valley would complete the first undefeated regular season in program history at 30-0. The Golden Eagles won the NJCAA Region 4 DII District B Championship, advancing to the NJCAA DII Women’s Basketball National tournament for the first time in program history. Rock Valley would complete the year going 34-0 and continued to be leaders in pretty much every statistical category in the nation. Watkins spent five years as an Assistant Women's Basketball Coach for the Golden Eagles under legendary Coach Misty Opat. In five years, he was an integral part of the 2013, 2015 and 2017 National Championship teams and the 2014 National Runner-Up. He was heavily involved in the program's recruiting, player development, strength and conditioning, and game preparation. Watkins also spent two years as the Head Girls Basketball Coach and Student Athletic Coordinator at Auburn High School in Rockford, Illinois.

Dave Slifer will enter his 20th season at the University of Missouri. He has led the Jennies to 12 NCAA postseason berths and a National Championship in 2017-18 with the Jennies best record in team history. Among active head coaches, Slifer is the second winningest active head coach in Division II and ranks in the top-10 among all three divisions with his 784 career victories. At Central Missouri, Slifer has coached seven WBCA All-Americans, two College Sports Communicators Academic All-Americans, as well as numerous all-region players, three MIAA Players of the Year, two Defensive Players of the Year and Freshman of the Year, and a Presidential Scholar. Slifer was named the WBCA Central Region Coach of the Year, and MId-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Coach of the Year three times. He was inducted into the Missouri Western Athletics Hall of Fame in October 2018. Prior to UCM Slifer served six seasons at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Overall, Slifer produced a record of 178-30 (.856). Slifer received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Mount Mercy in 1982, and a master’s degree in business administration from Eastern Illinois in 1985.

David Turnbull was hired by Jamestown Community College back in 2021, and since being hired on has led the Jayhawks to a 41-38 record. Turnbull comes from the high school ranks where he has had great success in short periods of time. Most recently, Turnbull captured two Section VI Class B-2 titles in four years at Southwestern Central School. In his four years with the Trojans, Turnbull posted a record of 71-24 while being named to the 2019 Post-Journal Coach of the Year. Even though Turnbull has no head coaching experience in college, he does have some experience coaching at the collegiate level, serving two seasons as an assistant men's basketball coach at Nazareth College. A native of Jamestown, Turnbull completed his Juris Doctor at Syracuse University College of Law in the fall of 1989. Prior to Syracuse, Turnbull received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel to go along with his Associates of Arts in Political Science right here at Jamestown Community College.

DéRonté Polite was named the head coach of the Hood College women's basketball team in May 2023. Polite takes over the Blazers after serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Division I University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 2019-23. His efforts helped the Panthers to win the Horizon League Regular Season Championship in 2020-21. Polite coached the point guards and small wings while at Milwaukee. Notably Kamy Peppler, who was voted 2022 Miss Basketball for Wisconsin. Polite arrived in Milwaukee following one season at Lincoln College in Lincoln, Ill., leading the Lynx to a 16-13 record in 2018-19 as the program transitioned from the NJCAA to the NAIA level. Before Lincoln, he spent four seasons as the girls' academy varsity basketball coach at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Polite served on the staff at Bryan College, an NAIA program in Dayton, Tenn. in 2013-14. The Lady Lions went 20-11, setting the program’s win record and posting its highest conference finish in seven years. Polite directed all facets of skill development for the program and served as the head coach of the Lady Lions’ junior varsity program. That followed a two-year stint as the head women's coach and assistant athletic director at Central Christian College of the Bible. During his tenure from 2011-13, he led his alma mater to the first two winning seasons in school history, compiling 37 victories. Polite coached three NCCAA All-Americans at CCCB: Taylor Terry, Mazie Dowdy, and Kelsi Mueller.

Gabrielle “Gabby” Holko was named the head coach of the Susquehanna women’s basketball program in July 2019, becoming the 12th head coach in program history. Holko’s coaching style and philosophy are deeply rooted in the three D’s of NCAA Division III – Discover, Develop, Dedicate. The majority of her career, both as a player and coach, has been spent in Division III. Previous experience includes Marywood University (2018-19) as a Women’s Head coach, Lackawanna College (2017-18) as a woman’s assistant coach, Allegheny College (2016-17) as a woman’s assistant coach, and Misericordia University (2014-16) as a graduate assistant. Gabby played college basketball at Westminster College, graduating in 2014.

Greg Long will enter his fifth season as the head coach of the Mississippi College Choctaw Women’s Basketball program. Long led the University of Arkansas at Monticello to a 20-11 mark during the 2019-20 campaign along with guiding them to the Great American Conference Championship Game. The 20 wins marked the most by a first-year head coach during the NCAA Era for the Green and White and was the first 20-plus win season for the program since the 1997-98 campaign. Prior to his stint in Monticello, Long worked at the University of Central Arkansas under head coach Sandra Rushing. Long was an assistant coach for the Sugar Bears from 2015-2017 and was promoted to associate head coach following a 26-5 season in 2016-17 that saw UCA win the Southland Conference – its second straight – and earn its second NCAA Tournament berth. During his four seasons in Conway, Ark., he recruited and coached seven All-Southland Conference selections along with four all-defensive team honorees. Long began his collegiate coaching career at Delta State University. He served as a volunteer assistant coach for the Lady Statesmen during the 2005-06 season and returned to the Mississippi Delta in 2010 where he served as an assistant coach until 2012. He helped DSU to back-to-back GSC regular season crowns and NCAA Tournament berths, including a run to the Sweet Sixteen in 2010-11. He helped to develop three all-Americans, seven all-region players, seven all-conference players, and the preseason National Player of the Year in NCAA Division II.

Heidi Messer joined the staff of Oklahoma Wesleyan in May 2022 and is entering her second season as head coach of the women’s basketball program. Messer, who is originally from Waynesville, Ohio, played four years at the collegiate level. She attended Sinclair Community College for two years before attending Grace College, where she played two years and served as team captain during her senior season. She recorded the eighth-most assists in program history while at Grace. Messer brings a wealth of coaching experience to the job. She received her graduate degree from Georgetown College (Ky.) where she was a graduate assistant for two seasons. In 2012, Georgetown advanced to the NAIA Fab 4. From 2012-2014 she was an assistant coach and the Senior Woman Administrator at Manchester University. In 2015, she joined the staff at the University of Montevallo, where she remained until 2017. From 2017 until joining the OKWU staff, Messer was an assistant coach and the women’s basketball strength and conditioning coach at Northeastern State in Oklahoma. Messer also served as a coach of a USA Sports Team that toured Brazil in the summer of 2021.

Former Virginia State University women’s head basketball coach, James Hill Jr., was selected in July of 2023 as the next athletic director and head women’s basketball coach at Denmark Technical College. Hill spent 16 seasons at the helm of the women’s basketball program at VSU, where he led the Trojans to five 20-win seasons and a 2015 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Women’s Basketball Championship. He has been named the CIAA Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year three times. In total, Hill has led the Trojans to four trips to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament with four CIAA Division Championships. During the 2017 season, Hill claimed his 200th victory as head coach of the Trojans. Before coaching at VSU, Hill was assistant women’s basketball coach at Shaw University, where he was employed by recruiting, scouting and skill development. From 2003-2005, the Shaw Bears captured three CIAA championships and three Black College championships, earning a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2005. Hill was named Shaw Assistant Coach of the Year three times and was inducted into the Shaw University Hall of Fame in 2017. A native of Macon, GA, Hill was a top player in the area as a member of the Northeast High School boys’ varsity basketball team. He earned his bachelor’s degree in allied health and professional recreation from Shaw University, where he was a standout guard for three seasons.

Jaresha Obey was named Madonna Head Women’s Basketball coach in June 2021. Coach Obey tied the programs 2-year win total in just one year. (2021-2022) Lead the team to their first conference tournament appearance in 5 years (2021-2022) and saw a Conference high 11 academic All-Americans. (2021-2022). Prior to Madonna, Coach Obey was a recruiting coordinator, post coach, and lead scout at Wayne State University. (2019-2020) Obey aided Wayne State to its first GLIAC Tournament win since 2014 and produced three All-East Coach Conference players at UDC on a 21-9 record Coach Obey is an Air Force Combat Veteran, currently serving in the District of Columbia Air National Guard as the Commander of the 113th Maintenance Operations Flight. She is a graduate of Rochester University, receiving a Bachelor of Science: Business Administration in 2007.

Jason Baker is the interim Head Women’s Basketball Coach for the Wolverines, entering his third season in the program. Baker spent the previous two seasons as the assistant coach for Grove City. Before joining the Wolverines program in August of 2021. In 2021-22, Baker helped the youthful Wolverines to a 17-9 overall record and a 13-5 mark in Presidents’ Athletic Conference play. Before Grove City, Baker spent four seasons as the head girls' basketball coach at Cardinal Monney High School in Youngstown, Ohio. He guided the Cardinals to a 56-32 overall record and back-to-back Steel Vally Conference Titles. Baker earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1988 from Muskingum College, where he played baseball.

Schmitz joined the St. Scholastica program in September of 2021. Previously a head women’s basketball coach at NCAA Division III Centenary College, Schmitz led the program to its most conference wins since the 1982-83 season. Before Centenary, Schmitz was an assistant on the women’s staff at his alma mater, the University of Mary (N.D.) for four seasons. While at Mary, he recruited and coached five Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) All-Conference selections, one NSIC Freshman of the Year, one DII Bulletin All-Freshman Team selection and two WBCA All-American Honorable Mention selections. Schmitz graduated from Mary in 2008 with a degree in Social Behavioral Science Education. He went on to earn his Masters in Secondary Education at Worcester State College (Mass.).

Jay Jenkins was named the head coach for the Roadrunners Womens basketball program in July of 2023. After only his first season with the school, he was named Women’s Junior college Coach of the year by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM). He led the Roadrunners to a 27-5 record, won the MCCAA Western Conference and Great Lakes district B Championship. The Green and Gold fiercely defended their home court by going 15-1, losing only one home game by a single point. For his efforts, Coach Jenkins was named the 2024 Great Lakes District B Coach of the Year. The SMC Women's Basketball Team was also well represented in the MCCAA postseason honors as the Roadrunners collected nine awards. Jenkins began coaching in 2013 at Broadmoor High School in Baton Rouge and moved to Head Coach at Bethany Christian School in Baker, Louisiana, in 2014. After one season, he had the opportunity to restart the men’s basketball program at Kansas Christian College in Overland Park, where he served for three seasons. In 2017, he coached both the men’s and women’s teams at Lone Star College in Houston. Jenkins was the head coach at Kaskaskia College in Centralia, Illinois, an NJCAA Division 1 institution and member of the Great Rivers Athletic Conference. During his tenure at Kaskaskia, he led the turnaround of the Blue Angels from a 5-23 team in 2018-19 into a winning 17-14 one last season.

Coach Jeff Allen took over the Cougar Women’s Basketball program in 2004 and continues to lead in 2024. In the 2023-2024 season his program made history making the National Tournament for the second straight season. Collin College finished the season 30-3 and a national ranking of 4th in the country. Under the leadership of Coach Allen, the Cougars have won seven conference championships in the last 10 seasons. The last 10 seasons the Lady Cougars have an overall record of 276-89. Allen is a native of Le Grand, Iowa and played two years of basketball at Marshalltown Community College, before earning a scholarship to play at Drake University under Head Coach Rudy Washington. During his senior year he was the Bulldogs leading scorer and in observance of Drakes 100th year of intercollege basketball Allen was voted to the All-Decade Team for the 90’s. Some other accolades for Allen include 2023-2024 Southwest District Coach of the Year, 2023-2024 NT JCAC Co-Coach of the Year, 2022-2023 WBCA Two-Year College National Coach of the Year, and 2022-2023 NTJCAC Coach of the Year. Allen earned his bachelor's in psychology from Drake and a master's of Science in Kinesiology from Texas A & M Commerce. Jeff and his wife Kim have two sons, Zach and Luke and live in Allen, Texas.

Coach Jen Conely Just completed her sixth season as the head coach of the Parkside Rangers women’s basketball team. The Rangers finished with a 16-12 record and finished the season in the GLIAC semifinals. In her third season Conely and the rangers went into the GLIAC entered the tournament as an eight seed winning the first round against the ninth seed and would go on to upset the second seeded team in the quarterfinals before falling in the semifinals against the sixth seed. Conely has seen numerous players win conference awards under her helm as the head coach including all- tournament team, all defensive team honors and second team all GLIAC honors. Before her time at Parkside, she was an assistant coach at Walsh University, helping the team to a 21-9 overall record and a 17-5 record in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Before Walsh, Conely spent a season at Ursuline College where she saw the team finish 23-8 and make an NCAA appearance and she spent eight seasons as the university of Indianapolis as an assistant helping lead the program toa 155-88 record and six NCAA appearances. In her final season as a collegiate player at Florida Gulf Coast Conley helped her team to 34-0 record after an impressive 29-2 record her junior year

Justin Smith became the head coach of Dubuque in 2020 after serving as an assistant coach for the program for three seasons. Under his guidance, Smith has led the Spartans to four straight conference tournaments and has been at or above .500 every season except for the shortened season due to COVID-19. Smith has 12 years of coaching experience at the high school and youth levels. Prior to UD, Smith was the Head Girl’s Basketball Coach at Hempstead High School in Dubuque, Iowa from 2012-2017. During his time at Hempstead, Smith guided Hempstead to three city titles, a Jimmy V. Classic Tournament Championship in 2013, and posted the second most wins in a season in school history twice. He left Hempstead with the second-best winning percentage in school history. Smith is a graduate of University of Northern Iowa, where he also began his coaching career as the Assistant Girl’s Basketball Coach at Janesville High School for two seasons. Smith’s coaching philosophy is building positive relationships and a team first culture which is centered around hard-work, communication, and trust.

Kate Pearson was named the head womans basketball coach at Rowan University in June 2023. Prior, Pearson oversaw fourteen successful seasons as the Head Coach at Cabrini University (Division III) where she led the team to nine conference championship appearances and five conference titles. Under her guidance, the team also made five NCAA appearances, including their first ever post-season victory in the 2014-2015 season. Coach Pearson’s impressive coaching record includes over 200 wins, multiple 20-plus win seasons, and a program record of 26 wins in 2018. She helped lead Cabrini to back-to-back conference titles in 2007 and 2008 and the ECAC Championship in 2020. Pearson was honored as the league's Coach of the Year four times, earning the CSAC award in 2013, 2015 and 2018, and the Atlantic East award in 2019. As a standout athlete at the University of Scranton, her contributions have been recognized through her induction to the Scranton Athletics Wall of Fame in 2014.

Katie Kollar became the head women's basketball coach at Macalester before the 2019-20 season, Kollar came to St. Pual after spending the previous four seasons as the head coach at SUNY Cobleskill. She is returning to the Academy after coaching her fifth season with the Scots, coaching four players named to Academic All-District Team, one to the All-Region Third Team, and two earning MIAC Honors this past season. At SUNY Cobleskill, Kollar took a Fighting Tigers’ team that had won just two games the year before and quickly built a solid program. After a nine-win campaign in her first year, Kollar led SUNY Cobleskill to a 14-12 record in 2016-17, the program’s first winning season in five years. That year, the team also earned a berth in the ECAC Tournament for the first time since 2008. Kollar also recruited and coached a student-athlete who scored her 1,000th career point during her junior year, just the second Fighting Tiger to achieve the milestone as a junior. Overall, SUNY Cobleskill was 46-55 under Kollar. Prior to her time at SUNY Cobleskill, Kollar was an assistant coach at Springfield (Mass.) College for two years. While at Springfield, she served as a compliance intern at American International College, an NCAA Division II institution in Springfield. Kollar also spent one year as an assistant coach at Averett University in Danville, Va.

Coach Kevin Clifford recently completed his sixth season as the head coach of the Roberts Wesleyan University women’s basketball team. His tenure as head coach is highlighted by the Redhawks’ first East Coast Conference Tournament championship in the 2020-2021 season. This ECC title allowed his team to make its first NCAA Division II Tournament appearance where they defeated American International and Dominican to reach the Sweet Sixteen. Their 2021-2022 season was capped off by reaching the semifinals of the ECC Tournament as well as a third-place finish at the National Christian College Athletic Association Division I Tournament in Indiana. Prior to his time at Roberts, Clifford had three-year stints at Buffalo State College and Mount St. Vincent. During his time at Buffalo State College, he led the 2017-2018 team to its most wins since 2013. That season, he also led his team to the SUNYAC Semifinals. During his time as head coach at Mount St. Vincent, his team won its first ever Skyline Conference Championship and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Following the 2013-2014 season, he was named the All-Metro Co-Coach of the Year along with Skyline Coach of the Year.

Coach Kira Carter will be entering her fourth season as the Women’s Basketball Coach of Missouri S&T, with this past season being their first winning season in ten years. She has also led the Miners to two straight appearances in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. Carter began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Thomas College before eventually returning to Wabash Valley. The Warriors went on to have a 55-12 record the two years she was there. Before joining the Miners, she was on Sam Houston State’s staff, which had a record of 35-23 in the two seasons she was there. In her two stops at the Division I level, Carter has held numerous responsibilities within those programs, including player development, scouting, recruiting, social media work within the program and handling the team’s community service projects. Carter’s work on the sidelines has gone unnoticed, as she was named to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association 30 under 30 list. This was in the Spring of 2020. Carter began her collegiate playing career at Oakland University, before transferring to Wabash Valley College a year later. After earning first-team honors, she would decide to transfer again and finish her career at Coastal Carolina University. Carter received her bachelor’s degree in marketing from Coastal Carolina in 2012 and her master’s degree in sports leadership from Duquesne University in 2015. She would go on to play one season professionally overseas with BK Lokomotiva Karlovy Vary, in the first division Czech Republic League.

Brodeen will enter her third season as the Raiders Women’s Head Basketball Coach in 2024-2025. Brodeen spent her first season recruiting and rebuilding a program from scratch due to two years of not competing. In her first competing season with the Raiders her program went 17-8 overall and 6-2 in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference. Before Central Lakes College, Brodeen was the head volleyball coach at Vermilion Community College in the fall of 2021 and previously the head volleyball coach and women’s basketball coach at Vermilion in 2017-2019. She also participated in both volleyball and basketball at Vermilion as a student athlete, earning All-Academic honors and captain roles. Brodeen is a native of Cool, MN and earned her associate's degree in business from Vermilion Community College in 2012, earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bemidji State University in 2016, and her master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University Irine in the spring of 2021.

LaSheena Brooks just finished her third year at Shorter University as the Women’s Head Basketball coach. Previously, she served as the Assistant Coach for Auburn University Montgomery for two seasons, during which she was named to the 2020 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s 30 Under 30 class. Before AUM, she was Assistant Basketball Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Snead State Community College for two years. Before her assistant coaching position at Snead State, Brooks was an assistant coach for the women's basketball team at George Washington Carver High School in Montgomery, Ala. for two seasons. Brooks played collegiately at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Alabama from 2009-2011, where she helped lead the Lady Lions to an Alabama Community College Conference Championship during the 2010 season. Brooks also played for two seasons at Spring Hill College, where she holds the record for most three-pointers made in a game (8). Brooks also holds the record for most threes made in a single game at Wallace State Community College (9). Brooks earned her master's degree in applied technology from Alabama State University in 2017, focusing in website design and social media. She received her bachelor's degree in communication arts from Spring Hill College in 2014, focusing in public relations and advertisement. She also holds an associate degree in education from Wallace State Community College. She is now married to Joseph Brooks, and they have one child, Zori Brooks.

Lenise Stallings enters her fourth season as Chowan’s head women’s basketball coach. In 2022-23, Stallings produced her second straight 18-win season going 18-11 overall and 12-8 in league play. Since being at Chowan, Stallings led the program to their second straight Conference Carolinas semifinals. This past season, she coached Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year and has coached multiple all-conference players. The Hattiesburg, Miss. native played her collegiate career at Mississippi Valley State and started her coaching career soon after as a graduate assistant from 2014-2016 at her alma mater, becoming an assistant coach shortly after. Stallings then spent two seasons as the assistant coach at Tennessee State, helping the Tigers secure the program’s largest recruiting class and a spot in the top-25 most improved Division I women’s basketball programs. Stallings comes to Chowan after a season at Wiley College (NAIA) in Marshall, Texas. During her stint with the Wildcats, Stallings orchestrated a winning season for the first time in three seasons.

Coach Markell Cox recently completed his fourth season at the helm of the Bluefield University women’s basketball program. Coach Cox is known for his recruiting expertise and has rebuilt programs doubling win totals for numerous programs. In his first season as head coach cox guided his team to 15-14 overall record and 15-11 in conference play which earned the program its first winning season since the 2016-17 season. Prior to his time with the program cox spent time at the University of Arkansas at Monticello for two seasons as the head coach and prior to Arkansas Cox joined the program at Cincinnati Christian University in 2017. At CCU he helped the program reach the conference tournament for the first time in 10 years in 2018-19. That season, the team registered the most conference wins in the River States Conference era. Cox has coached many student-athletes and some of them worthy of individual accolades as he coached two second team All-River States Conference players and two first team All-Region athletes. Cox has many years of coaching experience at the NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, and AAU coaching experience.

Allen serves as the Raiders' Assistant Coach and will enter his fourth season in 2025. In 2024, Allen was one of 32 coaches spanning NCAA Divisions I, II, III selected to participate in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Next Generation Institute. Before arriving at Shippensburg, Allen served as the Head Coach at Wilson College from 2016-21 and posted a 16-12 record in 2018-19, the best single-season record in 17 years and made its first-ever Colonial State Athletic Conference (CSAC) Semifinal and Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship appearance. Before Wilson, Allen spent eight seasons as the head coach at SUNY Cobleskill. During his tenure, Allen guided the Fighting Tigers to the 2014-2015 NEAC Championship, marking the first conference title and NCAA Division III National Tournament appearance in school history. At Shippensburg, Allen works in the Learning Center with the Continuing Academic Progress and Success program. Allen supports student success, retention, and progression to graduation through personalized support and serves as a student advocate who refers and connects students with relevant campus resources. A native of Concord, North Carolina, Allen graduated from Wofford in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy and Philosophy. He earned his master's degree at Shippensburg in Organizational Development and Leadership with a concentration in higher education and policy in May 2023.

Coach Melissa DeVore is in her fourth season as the head coach of the Coker University women’s basketball team. In the 2023-24 season, DeVore finished with a 17-11 overall record with 11 conference wins in the South Atlantic Conference. Prior to Coker DeVore spent 12 years working with Limestone as an assistant coach she helped the program with an 304-123 overall record, seven Conference Carolinas Regular Season Championships, five Conference Carolinas Tournament Championships, eight NCAA Tournament appearances, two NCAA Southeast Regional Championships, back-to-back trips to the Elite Eight in 2014 and 2015, and four final Top-25 national rankings. DeVore has coached six All-Americans, one Academic All-American, one Southeast Region Player of the Year and seven All-Region selections at Limestone. During her tenure, she has also coached two Southeast Region tournament MVPs, seven All-Southeast Region Tournament Team selections, one Elite 89 Award winner and one NCAA Woman of the Year finalist. DeVore has playing experience first at Danville Area Community College where she was named the conference most valuable player twice after leading in assists and steals. DeVore had an impressive playing career at Limestone averaging 15.8 points a game as a sophomore. DeVore is currently ninth all time in career assists at Limestone DeVore has been heavily involved with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, being a member of the mentor/mentee program in 2016 and 2017. She was also a member of the NCAA Women’s Coaches Academy from 2014-19.

Mikayla Lopez was named the Head Coach at Bethany College in the summer of 2022 and became the eleventh coach in program history. Before her start with the Bison Women’s Basketball program, she was an assistant coach at Buena Vista University where she was responsible for recruiting, maintaining the recruiting budget, and organizing fundraising events. Prior to BVU, Lopez was an assistant women's basketball coach at Aurora University for two seasons. During her time with Aurora University, Lopez assisted the Spartans in establishing two school records in most points scored in a game (112) and most three-pointers made in a game (18). Lopez began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Mountain Vista High School in Highlands, Colo. Throughout her collegiate playing career with Augustana, Lopez led the team in both steals and assists in 2017 and set a single-season record for free-throw percentage at 91.0 percent. While coaching at Aurora, her program ranked eighth in the NCAA DIII last season in points per game (80.0 ppg).

Misty Opat has over 20 years of collegiate coaching experience. She arrived at Cochise in 2020, coming most recently from Chicago State University (CSU), where she served as head coach for the women’s team. Before her time at CSU, Opat spent ten seasons at Rock Valley College (RVC) in Rockford, Ill., where she served as head women’s basketball coach and athletic director. She led her team to capture four National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III National Championships and seven consecutive North Central Community College Conference (N4C) titles. Opat received the Spalding NJCAA D-III National Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2017, the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year six times, the Region IV Coach of the Year seven times, the District 2 Coach of the Year five times, and the Coach of the NJCAA D-III National Tournament four times while at RVC. Prior to RVC, Opat had posted seven years of NCAA Division I experience, which includes assisting the University of Kansas to two Big 12 Conference championships and two NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearances from 1995-98, followed by stints at UIC (1999-2002) and Fresno State (1998-99).

Morra Gill McDaniel is the current Head Women's Basketball Coach at Harris-Stowe State University and has held the position there since August 2022. Gill McDaniel has supplied the program with lots of experience as she has 16 years of coaching experience under her belt, from two years of AAU coaching to many years at the collegiate level. Prior to Harris-Stowe State Gill McDaniel coached at North folk State University. While there she helped lead North folk to 18 wins, third most wins in the programs Division I tenure. Gill McDaniel was an assistant Women's Basketball Coach in the Big East, Atlantic 10, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, and Gulf South Conference, and Director of Operations in the A-10 and Ohio Valley Conference. She served her community by hosting clinics, consulting basketball programs, and mentoring athletes. Gill McDaniel spent four seasons as an Assistant Coach at La Salle. Her responsibilities included recruiting, scouting, player development and game preparation. She also spent her first season at La Salle as the Director of Women's Basketball Operations and was also at Providence College for 4 years as an assistant coach. After Gill McDaniel’s time as an assistant coach at Norfolk State, she became a Life Coach with the Xavier McDaniel Foundation.

Natalie Marlowe joined Saint Martin's University Athletics as the Head Women's Basketball Coach in June 2023 and is going into her second season with the Saints. Marlowe previously spent 2020-2023 as the head coach at Hartnell College (Salinas, CA) where she won a conference title and was named 2023 CCCAA Coast Conference Coach of the Year. She has also found immense success as an assistant for eight years from 2012-2020, where she was a crucial part of the staffs at Cal State University Monterey Bay, University of Texas at Dallas, University of the Incarnate Word, and Hendrix College. She also was a member of Stanford University's Women's Basketball Elite Camp staff from 2018-2019. Marlowe was awarded a spot on the WBCA 30 Under 30 list and received the American Southwest Conference Strategic Initiative Grand Recipient in 2018 for her efforts as an assistant during this time. Across all of her years of coaching experience, Marlowe has held a crucial role in the development of dozens of all-conference and all-American athletes, including the 2023 Coast Conference South MVP, four All-East Division Player of the Year winners, and 3 All-SAA Player of the Year selections. Marlowe was a member of the Chicago State University Women's Basketball program from 2008-2012, where she was a four-year starter, 2010-2011 Great West Conference Champion, and won multiple All-Great West Conference awards.

Nate Levine just finished his first season as Head Coach of the Lady Aggie’s at Murray State College leading them to a 15-13 season. Coach Levine was previously an Assistant Coach at Weber State University in Ogden, UT, where he spent the past 5 seasons. During his time at Weber State, Levine spent multiple seasons as an Assistant Coach. He also spent time as the Director of Basketball Operations and Video Coordinator. He assisted in all aspects of the program including recruiting, skill development, team skill instruction, advanced scouting and prep, team travel, camps, team gear & equipment, overseeing managers, overseeing practice players, and assisting with academics. During his time in Ogden, Levine helped coach Daryn Hickok to All-Big Sky honors in three consecutive seasons. Levine graduated from Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo in 2015 with a degree in Business Administration and a concentration in Management & Human Resources. During his time at Cal Poly he was a member of the men’s basketball team. He also spent multiple seasons as a practice player for the women’s basketball team, including part of the team that won a Big West title and competed in the NCAA tournament.

In her first season as Head Coach for the Falcons, Chapman led her program to a 13-14 overall record, going 11-13 in the Gulf South Conference. Chapman coached a pair of freshmen that earned six GSC Freshman of the Week Honors while coaching the Freshman of the Year Award winner and a 2024 GSC All-Academic selection in Marisa Snodgrass. Chapmen spent the 2022 season with the Falcons under previous head coach Gary Van Atta, where she helped lead the Falcons to a 2022-2023 GSC Championship Tournament appearance after posting a 12-12 league record and a 12-17 overall mark. Before joining the Montevallo women’s basketball program, Chapman spent a year at the University of Central Arkansas, and two years at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, where she helped lead the Drovers to a 35-14 record over the course of the two seasons. From 2017-1019, Chapman spent her time at Trevecca Nazarene University as a graduate assistant. Prior to coaching, Chapman played four seasons at Southern Nazarene University. As a player, she helped SNU earn its first ever Great American Conference Tournament Appearance. Chapman was a three-time Academic All-GAC honoree.

Coach Paul Davis is in his fourth year as the head coach of the Bluefield state women’s basketball team where he led the program to fifthteen wins. Davis has many years of coaching and player experience. Prior to Bluefield State Davis has spent time coaching at Livingstone college, Queens university, and Winston-Salem State University his alma mater Davis helped Queen’s capture their first ever outright regular season conference championship (19-1). Posting an overall season record of 31-5. The Royals won the Southeast Regional Championship and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament. At all three of his coaching stops, Davis has mentored several All-Conference and All-Academic selections, including conference tournament most valuable players, conference players of the year, and conference freshman of the year. Davis was an outstanding high school player in South Carolina and during his time at Winston-Salem State. Davis has played professionally overseas in Lithuania, Australia, Colombia and three other countries prior to beginning his coaching career.

Precious Ivy will now be in her fifth season as head coach of the Trinity Valley Women’s Basketball Team, after assuming the title of interim head coach on January 9th, 2020. Since taking over the helm, she has led the Lady Cardinals to an astounding 100-13 record over the past five seasons. They have won or shared the conference title over the five years that she has been head coach, as well as making it to the NJCAA tournament each time as well. In the 2021 season, Ivy led the lady Cardinals to a 22-3 record, even making it all the way to the championship game. Before her two years at HBU, Ivy would spend five years as an assistant coach at Tyler Junior College. At Tyler, she was in charge of recruiting, scouting, strength training, player skill development, academics and the redshirt program. She helped lead the Apaches to a 118-47 record, three national tournament appearances and a top-25 ranking for four-straight years. The Cedar Hill native played two seasons at San Jacinto College, earning all-conference honorable mention in 2006-07 and 2007-08. Back injuries cut her career short, which jumpstarted her coaching career earlier. Ivy earned a Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology fitness and sports from the University of Houston in 2008 and earned a Master of Arts degree in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University-Irvine.

Richard Ziegler started his assistant coaching career at Skidmore College in the Summer of 2021. Before joining Skidmore’s staff, he was previously an assistant Women’s basketball coach at Stockton University, for three seasons. But, Ziegler began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Western Michigan during the 2014-15 season, when the Mustangs went 20-13. He followed that as a graduate assistant at Michigan State the 2015-16 season, helping the Spartans to a 25-9 record. He then would go on to coach a season as an assistant at Norwich University. A native of Wildwood Crest, N.J., Ziegler possesses a bachelor's degree in management of Sports Industries from the University of New Haven and is working toward his master’s degree in Kinesiology from Michigan State.

Romeo Lagmay Jr. just finished his first year as the head coach at Taft College where he led the Cougars to a 19-11 record and had four players named to the All- Conference Team. Romeo Is a veteran college coach with over twenty years of experience at the NCAA Division II, NAIA, USCAA and NJCAA Division I level, along with a 4- year stint with the NBA Summer Professional League. As an award-winning Head Basketball Coach and two-time Board Member-elect of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), Romeo Lagmay Jr., known as Coach Romeo, is renowned nationwide as a motivational leader who energetically drives transformation. Among many other accolades, he holds the distinction of being the all-time winningest coach at Dawson Community College in Montana and recently led the team to the 2022 Preseason Conference Tournament Championship and WBCA’s #1 Team GPA in the nation. He led Talladega College (Alabama) to a NAIA top 10 national ranking and was the only school to have defeated two NCAA Division I programs in the same season and a USCAA National Championship.

Ryan McAdams was hired as the head coach at The University of Arkansas – Fort Smith in 2021 where he just finished his third season with the Lions. Prior to his time at UAFS McAdams spent four seasons at New Mexico State, where he helped guide the Aggies to the 2019 Western Athletic Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies also won the regular season conference championship in 2018 and played in the Women's National Invitation Tournament. While at New Mexico State, McAdams developed two WAC Players of the Year and 10 All-WAC players. Before going to New Mexico State, McAdams served as the women's basketball coach at Eastern Arizona College for seven seasons, where he went 137-82 with a 103-50 record in conference play. He also guided the Gila Monsters to three National Junior College Athletic Association Tournaments.

Sam Clayton was named the ninth head coach of the Michigan Tech women's basketball program in May 2018 and holds a 95-45 (.679) record at the helm with two NCAA appearances. In her sixth season at the helm of the Huskies, Clayton led Michigan Tech to the fourth seed in the GLIAC Tournament, finishing with an overall record of 15-12 and 11-7 in the GLIAC. She won her 100th career-game vs. Saginaw Valley on Dec. 7. She saw three players score their 1,000th career point in Sara Dax, Alex Rondorf, and Katelyn Meister. Clayton guided a trio of Huskies to All-Conference accolades with Isabella Lenz repeating as a First Team All-GLIAC Honoree while Katelyn Meister and Alex Rondorf earned Second Team All-GLIAC. Meister was also named to the GLIAC All-Defense team. Saw three team records fall in best field goal percentage .735 (36-49), most three-point field goals made (17), best three-point field goal percentage .708 (17-24) at Wayne State (Feb. 22.). Before being named the head women’s basketball coach at Michigan Tech, Clayton spent time as an assistant coach at the University of Sioux falls, and Youngstown State University. Clayton spent her time as a student-athlete at Michigan Tech and reigns as the seventh all-time leading scorer, amassing 1,434 career points during four seasons. The Huskies boasted an overall record of 103-22 during her career as a player.

Coach Samantha Davidson is entering her fourth season as head coach for the Converse University women’s basketball team and her twelfth season in total. Davidson coached the Valkyries to 14 wins which capped a record high of wins for the program in the NCAA- era. The Valkyries finished as co-champions in their division as a member of the Conference Carolinas. Under the direction of Davidson, the Valkyries had their first post season win in the 2024 postseason. Davidson came from Schreiner University. There she was the head coach of the women’s basketball program for four years. During that time, she set a school record for most conference wins, was named SCAC Coach of the Year (19-20) and coached multiple all-conference players. Prior to Schreiner she was an assistant coach for two years at Rhodes College where she coached multiple all-conference players and an All-American. Before Rhodes College, Davidson served as an assistant girls’ basketball coach for Webb School of Knoxville. There she helped the team to a state title. She coached multiple players who would go on to play at Divisions I, II, and III. Davidson was a four-year student-athlete at Birmingham Southern. There she finished in the program’s top five in career assists, 3-point percentage, free throw percentage, and top ten in 3-pointers made

Coach Proctor was hired in July of 2023 as Head Women's Basketball Coach of Highland CC. Proctor began her coaching journey in 2014 after a successful playing career with Northeastern Junior College ('08) and Shaw University ('11) a few years prior. Starting at Harrisburg High School, Proctor developed the offseason strength and conditioning program that the Harrisburg Lady Cougars would use for the next few years. Proctor aided the Lady Cougars to 20-6 record and continued with that success with a 20-5 record in the 2016-17 season along with a Conference, Regional and District 3-5A Championship in 2017-18. Pulling from multiple AAU programs working alongside WNBA star Alyssa Thomas, Proctor took her experience to the collegiate level in 2021, with Colby Community College. Proctor returned to her alma mater Northeastern Junior College in January of 2023 to fill the role of Assistant Coach and was soon after hired as Head Women's Basketball Coach at Highland where she continues to build the program.

Seth McDowell was hired as the Knox College Head Women's Basketball Coach in October 2023. In his first season with the Prairie, he was able to lead the team to a 19-8 season. McDowell has over 15 years of coaching experience, most recently as the Head Women's Basketball Coach at St. Louis Community College for one season. Prior to St. Louis Community College, McDowell spent two years as the Head Women's Basketball Coach at Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis. In the 2020-21 season, McDowell coached the America Midwest Conference (AMC) Newcomer of the Year. He also had three other all-conference performers with the Hornets. McDowell also served as the Assistant Women's Basketball Coach at Harris-Stowe during the 2017-18 season. He helped guide the team to a 13-18 overall record and 11-13 mark in conference play. He played a big role in developing post players, breaking down film, and defensive instruction. Between stints at Harris-Stowe, McDowell served one year as the Assistant Women's Basketball Coach at fellow AMC institution Missouri Baptist University. In his lone season with the Spartans, Seth helped produce 12 Academic All-Conference recipients and an All-AMC Honorable Mention.

Stephanie Stevens is entering her 11th season as head coach for the Gallaudet University women's basketball team and 12th with the athletics department. Stevens has served as the department's Health and Wellness Liaison since 2013. Under the leadership of Stevens, the Bison made a second straight appearance in the Northeastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) tournament during the 2014-15 season as GU finished as quarterfinalists. GU posted their best conference mark (13-7) during her tenure. Stevens previously spent one year as the Coordinator of Recruiting Operations for the nationally ranked University of Maryland women’s basketball program. The Maryland Terrapins won the 2012 ACC championship and advanced to the NCAA Division I tournament regional final (Elite 8) before losing to Notre Dame. Maryland finished with a 31-5 record and was ranked fifth in the nation. A native of Pickerington, Ohio, Stephanie attended Pickerington Central for high school where she played basketball and was named Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association Division I Player of the Year and selected to the all-state first team during her senior season (2006). She was rated the 33rd best point guard in her class in the nation.

Coach Stefanie Williams began her career at Kilgore College as the Women’s Basketball head coach in May of 2022. She originally began her coaching career in 2009-2010, as student assistant at East Texas Baptist University. After spending two seasons with East Texas Baptist University, she accepted an assistant coaching position at Texas A&M Commerce. She was the head Women’s Basketball coach for the 2021-2022 season at Bossier Parish Community College before accepting the job with Kilgore College. Over the past two seasons at Kilgore College, Williams has helped lead the Rangers to a 33-30 record. This past season is where they really took off, as they finished the year 19-13, and finished with a conference record of 11-5. The Rangers made the Regional Tournament, where they lost in the Semi-Final to Trinity Valley Community College. Coach Williams went on to play college basketball at ETBU, where she played in 69 games over four seasons. Williams earned a bachelor's degree in secondary education from ETBU in 2012 and a Master of Education in sports leadership from ETBU in 2014.

Coach Bradford was named the fifth coach in Lourdes Women’s Basketball History in August of 2021. After her fourth season with the Gray Wolves, Bradford holds a record of 31-56. Bradford has also produced four Second team All Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference selections during her stay at Lourdes. She has also had two players earn WHAC Player of the Week accolades. Before Lourdes, Bradford spent six seasons as the head coach at St. Ursula Academy, where she led the Arrows to their first winning season in 14 years. She also took St. Ursula to a top-three finish in the Three Rivers Athletic Conference each of her last two seasons with the Arrows. She began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Kentucky Wesleyan College in 1998-1999 and after two seasons was promoted to the program’s head coach, a position she fulfilled for three years. Bradford also spent time at the University of Toldeo as an assistant coach and Georgia Tech University as an administrative coordinator assistant. Bradford is a 1997 graduate of Thomas More College where she finished her basketball career and earned her bachelor’s degree in English and secondary education.

Travis Ponton will head into his sixth season as the head coach of the Bryn Athyn College women’s basketball team in 2024-25. In addition to his head coaching duties, Ponton is Bryn Athyn’s Assistant Athletic Director for compliance, as well as the department’s co-chair of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. During his tenure as head coach at Bryn Athyn, the Lions made back-to-back Colonial States Athletic Conference Tournaments for the first time in school history and Ponton helped lead the team to its first winning record in 6 years. Prior, Ponton was an assistant women's basketball coach at NCAA Division I Long Island University Brooklyn for the 2018-19 season. At LIU Brooklyn, Ponton helped develop one of the youngest teams in Division I. Ponton spent the 2017-18 campaign with Loyola University in New Orleans as an assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator. That year, the Wolf Pack went 26-6, won the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament, and reached the round of 16 in the NAIA Tournament. His vast experience at not only the Division III level, but also at the high school, NCAA Division I, and NAIA levels has contributed greatly to his success. As a coach, he is a one-time Women’s Hoop Dirt DIII National Coach of the Week honoree, a WBCA Thirty Under 30 Award recipient in 2018, and has been a panelist at two WBCA Coaches conventions. His professional camp experience includes the University of Maryland, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Georgetown University.

Johnson has served as the head coach of the FDU- Florham Devils the past two seasons. He brought over 30 years of coaching and recruiting experience to FDU-Florham, he served as the Head Coach for Saint Elizabeth from 2020-22 as well as Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator from 2017-20. Over the course of those five seasons, Johnson helped the Eagles to 45 wins, including 19 victories during the 2019-20 season, a year that saw Saint Elizabeth reach the championship game of the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Tournament. Prior to his time at Saint Elizabeth, Johnson was the Recruiting Coordinator and Co-Founder of the New Jersey Panthers, a program that was a lead recruiter for many of the top Division I, II and III programs in the country. Johnson was also the Head Girls' Basketball Coach at Villa Walsh Academy from 2015-22, the Head Girls' Basketball Coach at Parsippany Hills High School from 2013-15 and an assistant coach at Morris Catholic High School for two years where he helped the team win 54 games, two County Championships and two NJSIAA State Tournament Sectional titles.

Coach Wyketha Harrell recently completed her first season as head coach at Southwest Baptist University. Prior to SBU Harrell served as the associate head coach for the University of New Orleans women’s basketball program where she handled all aspects of recruiting, camps and clinics, game scheduling, post player development and forwards, while also assisting in game preparation and scouting. During the 2019- 20 campaign she helped lead the New Orleans women's team to set a school record for wins and had the longest home win record in program history. As the recruiting coordinator, Harrell helped bring in the 2020 recruiting class which is one of the highest rated groups in the program history. Her other stops include a three-year stint at Kent State as an assistant coach where she helped her team achieve the highest team GPA in the last four years. Before her stint at Kent State, Harrell was an assistant at the University of Missouri-Kansas City from 2007-2012. During her time with the Kangaroos, Harrell helped guide the program to their only two postseason appearances in school history. Harrell’s final season at UMKC was historic, as the Kangaroos finished with a 22-11 record, marking only the second 20-win season in school history. Harrell is a member of many associations including the Black Coaches Association (BCA), Women Coaches Academy (WCA), and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)