Successful six-year Jackson State Head Women’s Basketball Coach Tomekia Reed was introduced Thursday as the new head coach of the Charlotte 49ers, formerly UNC-Charlotte.
In her six years at JSU, Reed guided the Lady Tigers to become the most dominant program in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) winning the last five regular season titles, three tournament titles and NCAA berths.
Reed was selected as the SWAC’s Coach of the Year four times.
She compiled a 125-54 (.693) overall record and was a dominant 95-10 in conference play over that span. Her first JSU squad in the 2018-19 season finished 12-6 vs. SWAC competition and her teams then went 16-2, 14-1, 18-0, 17-1 and 18-0, a .954 percentage while winning the regular season titles.
Those marks were fourth best in the nation in conference winning percentage behind only UConn, South Carolina and Florida Gulf Coast.
“I will never forget the Jackson State experience,” Reed said at her introductory press conference.
“It made me who I am today: that’s a hustler and a winner at heart, a champion and a resilient, tough person. I am grateful to the HBCU community and what we were able to do.”
Reed said she would bring her entire Jackson State assistant coaching staff with her — Chase Campbell, Jonathan Williams and LaShonda Cousin — while adding staff.
She thanked God, her family and JSU Athletics Director Ashley Robinson. “I want to thank him for his support, for allowing me to win many, many championships at Jackson State University. I am forever grateful for my HBCU family and experiences.”
“I want to thank Tomekia for what she has done for Jackson State women’s basketball,” Robinson told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger newspaper. “The work she did during her time here at Jackson State is unmatched and we wish her nothing but the best at Charlotte.”
Reed becomes the ninth head coach in Charlotte women’s basketball history. Last year’s 49ers team finished 16-15 overall and 9-9 overall in the American Athletic Conference (AAC), tied for sixth in the 14-member league.
The AAC includes teams in Texas (North Texas, UTSA, Rice and SMU), Florida (South Florida and Florida Atlantic) and Pennsylvania (Temple) as well as East Carolina and Charlotte in North Carolina.
Reed is replacing Cara Consuegra who had led the 49ers for 13 seasons and compiled a 224-164 record during her tenure. Consuegra resigned after the season and was introduced last week as the new head women’s coach at Marquette.
“I want more trophies and more championships,” Reed said. “This will be the new location for where the rings reside.”