Bryant names Williams new hoops coach

BRYANT – Bryant High School recently announced their new head coach for the Lady Hornets basketball squad after longtime Coach Brad Matthews resigned to become the dean of students. Shanae Williams will fill the vacancy after bringing success to her previous programs.

Williams brings seven years of experience as a head coach to Lady Hornet Basketball. She played college Basketball at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, which was a nationally ranked program during her time on the team.

Williams said that she never expected to end up as a coach as she got her bachelor’s degree in social work.

Right before graduating college she received a call from a parent whose daughter she had coached at a team camp and asked her to fill the open coaching position at his daughter’s school.

“I always thought that

I was going to be a social worker, always wanted to be a counselor, just wanted to give back to diverse populations, but God had other plans,” Williams said. “I was a head coach at 22, fresh out of college.”

She started her coaching career at Lee Academy in Clarksdale, Mississippi, where she coached for two years. Before she had taken over as head coach, the team had only won two games in

five years, Williams brought the school their first championship in 26 years.

After coaching there, she went back to where she graduated high school to coach at her alma mater, Crossett High School in Crossett, Arkansas, where she won the school’s first conference championship in 28 years.

“Every program that I had taken over was on the cusp of dying off,” she said.

After coaching at

Crossett, Williams coached for one year at Magnolia High School before coming to Bryant. The team ended up 14-0 in conference and finished 23-6 overall.

“We advanced the elite eight of the state tournament,” Williams said. “That was also the first time in the school’s history.”

Williams anticipates main differences between coaching programs like Crossett and a program like the one at Bryant is the confidence is already there for the team.

“I think at this point in my career, I’m ready to coach at this level because of the success I’ve had the past several years,” she added.

She said she thinks

Bryant was the best fit for her and her family. Williams and her husband Andrew have been married for two years and they have a 1-yearold son named Nash.

She added that she wants to build a culture for the team that is “bigger than basketball” that will follow them for the rest of their lives.

“That’s the approach I have taken the past seven years,” said Williams.

Outside of coaching, Williams is an author who has written four books, a motivational speaker and founder of the Level UP mentor program.