Jaguar women’s basketball introduced its as new head coach and staff . Officially announced on April 5, 2023, Yolisha Jackson was hired to take over the women’s basketball program. Coach Jackson is no stranger to South Alabama. She was previously on the women’s basketball coaching staff from 2013-2020. Coach Jackson was an Assistant Coach & Recruiting Coordinator. During the 2019-2020 season she was the Assistant Head Coach. During her time at South Alabama, the Jags had two 20-win seasons and in the 2018-2019 season the program set a record of 25 wins. Coach Jackson was also instrumental in the development of Chynna Ellis who went on to become the Sunbelt Conference Defensive Player of Year in 2016 and 2018.
Coach Jackson was a Recruiting Coordinator Kennesaw State, Air Force, South Alabama, and South Florida. At South Florida Coach Jackson was also an Assistant Coach and during her time there, South Florida made three NCAA appearances. In 2021 Coach Jackson was highlighted by Sports Illustrated and Empower Onyx in the series 100 Influential Black Women in Sports. This series focused on Black women in all sports who were making an impact in their communities and who are vital in developing the future generation of leaders in the community.
Coach Jackson has already started assembling her staff at South Alabama. Eryc Pittman was announced as an assistant coach on Coach Jackson’s staff. Coach Pittman spent two seasons at Austin Peay as an assistant coach. At Austin Peay, the Governors had a 37-25 record in two seasons and went to the Women’s Basketball Invitational in 2022. Coach Pittman was at Jacksonville State for six seasons where he coordinated scouting reports and recruiting. Before Jacksonville State, Coach Pittman was at Brewton-Parker College, Abbey College and was a Grad Assistant at Eastern Kentucky.
Jackson also added former Jag player and grad assistant Colby Davis. Davis spent the past two seasons at FAMU as an assistant coach.
Davis began her coaching career at Pearl River, where she was responsible for recruiting and film breakdowns, while developing guards and post players. Davis was a GA at South Alabama. In 2019-2020 she helped the Jaguars get the the Sun Belt Conference semifinals and Quarterfinals in 2020-2021.
At the end of the 2022-2023 women’s basketball season, the Jags were 7-23 and the program has only one NCAA appearance in its history. Coach Jackson is ready to “raise the bar”. She feels that the Jags have the talent to become successful, but says it is a “process” and will take time. The future looks bright for the Jaguars.
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