Jackson State was the hottest team in HBCU women’s basketball under former head coach Tomekia Reed, who took much of her staff to UNC Charlotte when she became head coach. New JSU head coach Margaret Richards is looking to keep the momentum going with the Jackson State women’s basketball program as she brings in an experienced staff to help the Tigers remain a top squad in not just the SWAC, but in all of HBCU women’s basketball. Below is a press release announcing the coaching hires.
Courtesy of Jackson State Athletics
JACKSON, Miss. | Jackson State head women’s basketball coach Margaret Richards officially announced her staff for the upcoming season Monday afternoon.
The staff includes a pair of former head coaches (including a Jackson native), a former All-SWAC performer on the court, a national champion, and several conference championships. The staff also includes coaches who have developed all-conference and All-American selections for both men’s and women’s programs around the country.
Dylan Howard joins the staff after a one-year stint at Oakwood following a one-year stint as the associate head coach for the Southern men’s basketball team. He is no stranger to HBCU or the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) after serving as an assistant coach at Mississippi Valley State and Alabama A&M, before serving three years as the men’s head coach for the Bulldogs. During his time at Southern, he held the Jaguars finish as the top-scoring team in the league and one of the top defensive teams in the nation finishing seventh in turnovers forced per game. While at Alabama A&M, he helped the Bulldogs to the conference semifinals, and his team was ranked No. 1 in the RPI rankings. Howard has helped develop several all-conference performers during his career as well as All-Americans in his 28-year coaching career.
Daniel Price also joins the staff under Margaret Richards after a stint at Sun Belt Conference member Marshall where he helped lead the women’s basketball team to the conference championship and a berth in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Jackson native is no stranger to winning having helped lead Georgetown (Ky.) College to the 2013 NAIA National Championship. Prior to his stint at Marshall, he served as the head coach of Simmons (Ky.) College where he led the women to the first-ever NCCAA National Tournament Final Four and the team was ranked in the top-10 nationally in several categories. He also helped lead the University of the Cumberlands to a national tournament appearance and a Mid-South Conference tournament title during his time on the sideline.
Margaret Richards brings back a familiar face to SWAC and HBCU women’s basketball in former All-SWAC performer Alexus Holt who was previously on staff at Copiah-Lincoln. During her time on the sideline, she was part of a staff that led to the development of Tandria Minor who was named Second Team All-MACCC, and Zykeria Anderson a First Team All-MACCC, All-Region 23 selection, and World Exposure Report Honorable Mention All-American. As a player at Grambling, she played in 30 games and averaged 17.0 points per game, while also averaging 5.3 rebounds per game on her way to being named BOXTOROW All-American. She was also named to the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) All-Louisiana Second Team after her final season at Grambling.
Pat Richardson rounds out the staff named on Monday after a stint at Quincy (Ill.) University. He served in an assistant role for the program and also as the interim coach for games leading the team to a 3-1 record. No stranger to the SWAC, Richardson spent several years at Alabama A&M including as the special assistant to head coach Dylan Howard. During his time in Huntsville, he helped the Bulldogs to their most regular season wins since the 2015-16 season with home wins over Troy, Jacksonville State, and Troy. During his time coaching, Richardson has been instrumental in coaching four all-conference players.