Athletic Director and Head Gymnastics Coach

Fisk University

ㅤ

In 2022, Corrinne Tarver accepted two positions at Fisk University — Athletic Director and gymnastics coach. Although NCAA gymnastics began in the 80s, Fisk is the first HBCU to field a team. Tarver, who was the first Black woman to compete on Georgia University’s gymnastics team and the first Black woman to win the NCAA’s all-around national title, leads the squad.

ㅤ

News of the inaugural program spread quickly, and Tarver landed highly-lauded recruits like Morgan Price and Liberty Mora, who both won All-American honors at the 2023 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships. The program has also inspired another HBCU, Talladega College, to start a gymnastics team.

Head Women’s Basketball Coach

Ole Miss University

ㅤ

Known as “Coach Yo” to most, McPhee-McCuin has been quietly and consistently building Ole Miss women’s basketball as a force to be reckoned with in the SEC. In the 21-22 and 22-23 seasons, the Rebels amassed back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 1993-95 seasons.

ㅤ

McPhee-McCuin’s hard work has paid off in more ways than one. In 2022, she was the SEC's sixth-highest-paid women’s basketball head coach. In 2023, Ole Miss awarded McPhee-McCuin a brand new contract worth over $1M per year.

Head Softball Coach

Illinois University

ㅤ

Tyra Perry became the Fighting Illini’s head softball coach in 2015 and immediately made an impact, leading Illinois to the 2016, 2017, and 2019 NCAA tournaments. In 2022, Perry coached the squad to a third-place finish in the Big Ten and an NCAA tournament appearance - the best finish in her tenure. Perry was the only Black head softball coach in the entire conference until 2022, when Michigan State hired Sharonda McDonald-Kelley.

ㅤ

Perry recently surpassed her 600th career win and has posted five 30-win seasons over the last eight years. In July 2023, the Fighting Illini offered Perry a contract extension to keep her in orange and blue through August 2027.

Associate Head Coach - Goalkeepers

Wake Forest University

ㅤ

Former NWSL goalkeeper Brittany Cameron made history when she became the Associate Head Coach for the Wake Forest soccer program in 2020. At the time, Cameron was the only Black woman in the entire Power Five to hold the title of Associate Head Coach or Head Coach. In 2022, Cameron accepted the goalkeeper coaching position for the U-20 USWNT, becoming the first Black coach to represent the United States in a World Cup qualifier. 

ㅤ

As of 2022, only five Black female coaches (including Cameron) were in Division 1 soccer. Cameron has helped lead Wake Forest to two NCAA tournament appearances and coached sophomore goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parks to nine shutouts and a Second Team All-American selection. 

Assistant Running Backs Coach

Chicago Bears

Jennifer King was a gifted, multi-sport athlete in her youth, which directly translated into her trailblazing professional career. King is mainly known for her work in the NFL, but that’s not the only impressive stint on her resume. Before entering the NFL, King coached women’s basketball. In her first head coaching role, she led Johnson & Wales University to a USACAA Division II National Championship while the program was still in its infancy. 

King has made history again, becoming the first-ever female coach for the Chicago Bears in 2024. She spent the previous three seasons with the Washington Commanders as the Assistant Running Backs Coach. After accepting that full-time position after the 2020 season, she became the first Black woman assistant position coach in NFL history.

Head Women’s Track & Field Coach

Team USA

LaTanya Sheffield has a long and storied history of success in track and field. Before becoming a coach, Sheffield was an Olympic hurdler, representing the US at the 1987 Pan American Games and the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Sheffield won two gold medals at the Olympics Sports Festival in both 1987 and 1993.

As the head women’s track coach at Long Beach State University for the past two years, Sheffield has specialized in working with sprinters, hurdlers, and relay teams. Sheffield was recently named the Head women’s track and field coach for Team USA for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Assistant Coach

Orlando Pride

ㅤ

After leading the Tulsa Soccer Club and Fortuna Tulsa of the WPSL to the Franchise of the Year award in 2019 and 2021, respectively, Yolanda Thomas joined the coaching staff for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride during the 2023 preseason. Thomas isn’t just a talented coach, but also a standout former player. The Oklahoma State alum earned Big 12 Player of the Year honors twice and was a finalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year award in 2009.

ㅤ

Thomas’ leadership extends beyond the pitch. Thomas serves in the United Soccer Coaches’ Black Coaches Community, where she was just awarded the Assistant Coach of the Year honor in January 2024. She also leads the Women Coaches Community’s #MomsWhoCoach initiative. #MomGoals

Associate Head Coach - Swimming & Diving

Louisiana State University 

ㅤ

Before accepting the coaching position at LSU, Leah Stancil was a supremely successful head coach at Tulane University’s swimming and diving program. She led the program to 19 school records and coached two swimmers to the National Championships. Stancil has also coached for the Barbados National Team at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 World Championships. 

ㅤ

Stancil also represented Barbados as an athlete at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where she became the first Black woman to reach the Olympic finals in the 50m freestyle. In her collegiate career with the Florida Gators, Stancil racked up twelve NCAA All-American honors.

Head Tennis Coach

University of Minnesota

ㅤ

In June of 2023, the University of Minnesota hired Lois Arterberry as their new tennis head coach. In doing so, Arterberry became the first Black head coach at the University of Minnesota (in any sport) in over two decades, and only the third in school history. Arterberry had previously coached at the University of St. Thomas, where she helped the program transition from DIII all the way to Division I. 

ㅤ

Arterberry is originally from Grenada, and represented her country at the Caribbean and Central American Games in 2014. She is a five-time recipient of the Grenada Sports Woman of the Year award.

Head Coach

Seattle Storm

ㅤ

Noelle Quinn became the head coach of the Seattle Storm after her predecessor, Dan Hughes, abruptly retired only six games into the 2021 season. When she accepted the position, Quinn became the first ever Black woman to be the head coach of the Seattle Storm and just the 19th Black woman head coach in the history of the WNBA.

ㅤ

Since taking the helm, Quinn guided the Storm to the playoffs in two of the last three years. Seattle is looking to dominate the league this year after Quinn and the squad landed big free agency acquisitions in WNBA veterans Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith. Quinn also signed a multiyear contract extension this past offseason, locking her in with the Storm for the foreseeable future.

Hitting Coach

Great Britain Women’s National Team

ㅤ

Bianca Smith is no stranger to making blazing a new trail. Smith interned with the MLB league office and the Texas Rangers and worked with the Cincinnati Reds in 2019, but her big break came just one year later. In 2020, Smith accepted a position as the position coach with the minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. When she was assigned to the Fenway South Complex, Smith became the first Black woman to work as a coach in a professional baseball league. She continued to work with the Red Sox until the conclusion of the 2023 season. 

ㅤ

Smith recently became the hitting coach for the Great Britain Women’s Nation Team. She is the only woman on the seven-person coaching staff. 

 Head Women’s Basketball Coach

University of South Carolina 

ㅤ

We couldn’t close this list without including the GOAT. Staley has been elevating the game since her college days, where she led the Virginia Cavaliers to the NCAA Tournament for four years in a row, culminating in an appearance in the title game. She’s won Olympic gold medals as both a player and a coach, and she’s the only person in USA Basketball history to win both Basketball Athlete of the Year (1994 & 2000) and Coach of the Year (2015, 2018, 2021). 

ㅤ

Staley’s tenure at South Carolina has led to incredible success in nearly every category - winning national championships, producing talented athletes who see success at the next level, and leading the way with community impact. When she eventually decides to hang it up, Staley will leave a legacy as one of the greatest players, coaches, and people ever to touch the game of women’s basketball.