April 12, 2025
Veteran HBCU Women’s Basketball Coach Johnetta Hayes Hired By Alabama State
Hayes was most recently an assistant coach at Rutgers University, where she helped lead that program to the Great Eight in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament this past season.
Alabama State University hired Johnetta Hayes, a two-time Southwestern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, to replace Freda Freeman-Jackson, who retired after a 27-year coaching career at ASU.
According to Sports Illustrated, Alabama State University President Dr. Quinton T. Ross Jr. praised Hayes’s hiring in a press release.
“The Alabama State University Hornet Nation is thrilled to welcome Coach Johnetta Hayes as the new head coach of our women’s basketball team,” Dr. Ross said. “Coach Hayes is a proven winner, a two-time SWAC Coach of the Year who brings championship-level experience, a relentless drive for excellence, and a passion for developing student-athletes on and off the court. Her leadership will energize our program and inspire greatness in our talented roster of young women. We are confident that with Coach Hayes at the helm, Lady Hornets basketball is poised to rise to new heights. Let’s go, Hornet Nation!”
Alabama State University’s Vice President and Director of Athletics, Dr. Jason Cable, will formally introduce Hayes as the next head coach of the women’s basketball program on April 15 at the Hornet Stadium Lounge.
Hayes was most recently an assistant coach at Rutgers University, where she helped lead that program to the Great Eight in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament this past season. Hayes’ succession of Freeman-Jackson makes her only the third head coach in the program’s history.
At Rutgers, Hayes worked primarily with centers while also serving as the Scarlet Knights’ Defensive Analytics Coordinator, a role Hayes was suited for as a former star center at Rice University.
Hayes had a career year during her junior season in the 2002-2003 season. She earned First-Team All-WAC honors en route to leading the Owls in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, and field goal percentage while also ranking 16th nationally in blocked shots per game that season.
As a head coach, Hayes compiled an 83-24 record in conference play at Texas Southern University and an overall record of 115-74 across six seasons as the Tigers head coach from 2013-2019. While at TSU, she led the program to two regular-season SWAC titles, one SWAC tournament title, one NCAA tournament appearance, two WNIT appearances, and one WCBI appearance.
In 2019, Hayes accepted an offer to be the head coach at UMBC, where she helped to develop Kiara Bell, KK White, and Ashia McCalla into All-America East Conference players while guiding the team to the America East tournament semifinals for the first time since 2015.
This winning pedigree likely led ASU’s brass to extend an offer to Hayes.
“I am deeply grateful to President Ross, Dr. Cable, and Dr. Lavalais for entrusting me with the incredible opportunity to lead the Alabama State women’s basketball program, Hayes said. “Alabama State athletics embodies a culture of unwavering dedication, a championship-driven mindset, strong family values, and faith-based principles. It is a true honor to be part of a university that stands firmly behind such core ideals. Now is the time for us to come together, SWARMAS1, and build a legacy of championship-level success for women’s basketball.”
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