Jeffrey Williams - Assistant Coach - Staff Directory - East Carolina University Athletics

Staff Directory

Jeffrey Williams

Title:
Assistant Coach
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Jeff Williams was named an assistant coach for the East Carolina women's basketball program on July 13, 2022.

2023-24 was a season of resilience for the Pirates. Despite multiple season-ending injuries, the team still finished with a 19-14 record, including a 9-9 record in American Athletic Conference play. The team also made a phenomenal run to reach the AAC Tournament Final for the second year in a row. It was the first time the Pirates had reached league finals in consecutive seasons since 1991 and 1992. In doing so, the Pirates won three games in three days, including a win over top-seeded Tulsa in the quarterfinal round. The Pirates posted some remarkable stats on the year, once again reaching the top 10 in program history in steals and turnovers forced.

Working primarily with the forwards group, Williams was able to help the squad to great individual success in 2023-24 as well. Transfer forward Tatyana Wyche was named to the AAC All-Newcomer squad after posting a career season with 6.8 points and 6.4 rebounds as well as 51 blocks, seventh in ECU history in a season while Amiya Joyner posted the third most rebound ever in a single season with 309. Combined, the group blocked 175 shots on the year, second in program history.

Williams' first season in Greenville was an historic one with the Pirates winning the most games in program history (23) while winning the AAC Tournament Championship and earning the program's third NCAA Tournament bid. The team found individual success in addition to the team success with Danae McNeal earning Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player honors, Amiya Joyner being named Freshman of the Year and Synia Johnson being named AAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

A veteran in the ranks, Williams owns over 30 years of coaching experience, most recently serving as the associate head coach at Stony Brook University.

"I am extremely excited to add Jeff to our family," said Head Coach Kim McNeill. "He's a veteran coach that has been successful everywhere he's been. Jeff has a reputation of being a great recruiter, but he also has a passion for developing young people. Jeff will be a great addition to our staff!"

In four seasons at Stony Brook, Williams helped the Seawolves to an 89-23 record, an NCAA Tournament appearance, two America East Conference Tournament championships and the school's first-ever America East Conference regular season title.

The historic 2019-20 campaign saw Stony Brook post a 28-3 overall record and 14-2 mark in league play. After downing ACC opponent Pitt in December and touting the nation's longest active win streak (22), the team started garnering votes in the national polls for the first time ever.

Williams helped develop Stony Brook's five all-conference selections that season, including first team honoree India Pagan. He was also instrumental in helping all-defensive team pick Cheyenne Clark have a record-breaking final season, shattering the program standard in single-season offensive rebounds.

In William's first season in 2018-19, the Seawolves earned a 23-8 (11-5, AE) record with a conference tournament semifinals appearance. Stony Brook touted two first team all-conference selections that year in senior guards Shania Johnson and Jerell Matthews. The team also broke two program records in single-season 3-pointers and assists and earned its first victory over a Power Five opponent.

Prior to his stint at Stony Brook, Williams was the women's basketball head coach at La Salle University from 2010-18. He was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in 2017, helping the Explorers complete their biggest single-season turnaround in school history. He helped guide the program to four Atlantic 10 postseason victories, advancing to the quarterfinal round of the Atlantic 10 Championships on four separate occasions.

Before joining LaSalle, Williams spent seven seasons at the University of Pittsburgh as Associate Head Women's Basketball Coach from 2003-10. He helped lead the Panthers to five-straight seasons with a postseason appearance, including three NCAA Tournament trips and two Sweet Sixteen showings (2008, 2009).

Williams has also served as an assistant women's basketball coach at Howard (1995-2000) and Georgia Tech (2001-03). Before joining the Howard staff, he served as a men's basketball assistant coach at George Mason (1989-93) and South Carolina State (1987-89).

In total, Williams has recruited six players that have reached the WNBA, including Pittsburgh All-American and 2009 WNBA All-Rookie Team honoree Shavonte Zellous. Three of his recruiting classes have been ranked in the top 15 nationally.