Meet the Black Women’s Head Coaches Changing the Game Pt.2
Meet the Black women’s college basketball head coaches who are changing the game. This month SLAM and the BCA are celebrating the Black head coaches in women’s college basketball making major impacts at their respective schools. You can read part 1 of this series here.
Katrina Merriweather, Memphis
Katrina Merriweather has been a culture changer at Memphis. In her first year, she led the Tigers to their second 15-plus win season in team history and their first since 2015-2016. The following season also saw the Tigers’ find success and get off to an elite start, going 6-1. Merriweather was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame that same year.
While Meriwether brought winning to Memphis, winning isn’t new to Merriweather. Before Memphis Merriweather was the coach at Wright State, where she led the Raiders to two Horizon League championships and the school’s only back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2019 and 2021. Merriweather graduated from the University of Cincinnati where she began her coaching career as a graduate assistant.
Ed Davis Jr, Morgan State
Lauren Sumski, Lipscomb
When Sumski joined the Lipscomb Bisons in the spring of 2019 she was not only one of the youngest Head Coaches in the country, at 27, but was also the first-ever female to lead the program since it turned Division I. Sumski’s impact was immediate as she spearheaded a 13 game turnaround from the previous season, improving their record from 5-21 to 18-9. This year the Bison are having an extremely solid season winning 20+ games. Sumski was a distinguished player in her own right, coming out of high school she was the 28th-ranked player nationally, committing to Tennessee. While her time at Tennessee only lasted one year, she was awarded to the SEC All-Academic team before transferring to Rhodes College. During her playing career at Rhodes College, Sumski was a two-time WBCA All-American, a National Player of the year finalist, a SAA Player of the Year, a two-time SAA Tournament MVP, and an academic honor roll member. Her time at Rhodes was highlighted by her Senior year in which she averaged 25.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
Tarrell Robinson, North Carolina A&T
Ashley Langford, Stony Brook
Recruiting seems to be her bread and butter as well. The former James Madison associate head coach already has a history of bringing in a former 2020 WNBA draft pick, one Player of the Year and two Rookies of the Year.
Laura Harper, Towson
Her coaching journey began as an assistant coach at American University in 2013, and then as head coach at Montverde Academy. A year later, Harper took her expertise to Coppin State as a head coach for the first time on the college scene, where she completely flipped the program around after her first season there, going from a 2-13 record to 15-13. Now that she’s at Towson, the Tigers have a 21-11 record in the Colonial Athletic conference this season.
Toyelle Wilson, SMU
With an overall head coaching record of 69-57, Toyelle Wilson is still on a quest to deliver an NCAA championship to SMU as the school’s first Black female head coach. Before previously becoming an assistant coach for the prestigious and often competitive Baylor and Michigan in 2013, she was a head coach at Prairie A&M from 2010-2013. Before getting the head coaching position there, she served as an assistant for four years.
This year, Wilson has the Mustangs holding onto a 16-12 record in the American Athletic conference and a 12-2 record at home. The best is yet to come from the former guard.
Brittany Young, Austin Peay
Young’s resume includes coaching at Daytona State College, where she yet again shined while also taking on the responsibilities of academic coordinator, program’s recruiting coordinator, strength and conditioning liaison, director of player development, and director of operations. In her time with the Mississippi State Bulldogs, she played a vital role in recruiting KN’isha Godfrey, who was a four-star recruit in high school. Fast forward to this year, and Young is now at the forefront of Austin Peay’s 17-12 record overall record and a 11-6 record at home.
Jada Pierce, Niagara
Pierce’s reputation speaks for itself. Last year, the Purple Eagles had their best season under her leadership, securing a record of 15-15, and now, the team has improved to an overall record of 18-12. What’s more impressive is their 16-4 record in the conference.
Photos via Getty Images
