Story Courtesy: Keion Robinson, Wake Forest Athletics

 The Wake Forest women’s basketball program and head coach Megan Gebbia announced the addition of Jimmy Colloton to the coaching staff on Tuesday. 

Colloton will serve as an assistant coach for the Demon Deacons, as his role will primarily center on working with the team’s perimeter players and coordinating the defense.

“We are very excited to add Jimmy Colloton to our basketball family,” said Coach Gebbia. “He has built up ample experience over the years while seeing success at different stops throughout his career. He has a proven record in successfully recruiting players at different levels and developing those players to become all-conference performers. He will be tasked with implementing our defense and developing the wings in our program. Jimmy will be an invaluable addition for us right away and I am thrilled to have him with us as we prepare for a fifth season here at Wake Forest.”

“Thank you to Coach Megan Gebbia, Vice President and Director of Athletics John Currie and the Wake Forest senior staff for this incredible opportunity,” said Colloton. “From the moment I stepped on campus and met the people here, I knew it was a place that I wanted to be a part of. Wake Forest’s rich academic and athletic tradition speaks for itself. My family and I look forward to joining the Demon Deacons team and community!”

Colloton comes to Winston-Salem following three seasons with the Saint Louis Billikens women’s basketball team as associate head coach. During his first season on the sidelines, the team marched its way to the 2024 WNIT championship crown, winning six final games after falling just short in the Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinals. The team’s 22 wins that season were its most since the 2016-17 campaign.

At Saint Louis, Colloton was part of a staff that developed some of the top players in the conference, attaining accolades that include:

• Kyla McMakin
  • 2024 All-Atlantic 10 Second Team
  • 2024 WNIT All-Tournament Team
• Julia Martinez
  • 2024 Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team
• Kennedy Calhoun
  • 2024 & 2025 Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team
• Peyton Kennedy
  • 2024 WNIT Most Valuable Player & All-Tournament Team

Prior to joining the Billikens, Colloton was a member of the women’s basketball coaching staff at the United States Naval Academy from 2014-23. He balanced multiple roles during his tenure in Annapolis, serving as recruiting coordinator (2018), interim head coach (2020) and associate head coach (2020-22). Colloton’s expertise on the recruiting scene led to three of Navy’s freshmen classes ranking first among the Patriot League on three separate occasions: 2017-18, 2021-22 and 2022-23.

In just his third season, Colloton helped Navy win its first national postseason tournament game in program history on March 17, 2017, when the Mids knocked off George Washington in an overtime victory during the WNIT’s first round. A year later, he was a part of a Navy team that finished as runner-ups in the Patriot League Tournament while notching a program-best 25 wins. By his final season, a total of 11 players under Colloton and the staff’s leadership earned conference honors:

• Kaila Clark
  • 2018 Patriot League All-Defensive Team
• Jennifer Coleman
  • 2019 Third Team All-Patriot League
  • 2019 Patriot League All-Rookie Team
  • 2021 Second Team All-Patriot League
  • 2022 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year
  • 2022 First Team All-Patriot League
• Sarita Condie
  • 2017 First Team All-Patriot League
  • 2017 Patriot League All-Tournament Team
• Taylor Dunham
  • 2015 Patriot League All-Rookie Team
  • 2017 Third Team All-Patriot League
  • 2018 First Team All-Patriot League
  • 2018 Patriot League All-Tournament Team
• Hannah Fenske
  • 2018 Second Team All-Patriot League
  • 2018 Patriot League All-Tournament Team
• Sophie Gatzounas
  • 2021 Third Team All-Patriot League
• Maren Louridas
  • 2023 Patriot League All-Rookie Team
• Bianca Roach
  • 2019 Patriot League All-Defensive Team
• Justice Swett
  • 2016 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year
  • 2016 Patriot League All-Defensive Team
  • 2017 Patriot League All-Defensive Team
• Morgan Taylor
  • 2020 Patriot League All-Defensive Team
• Mary Kate Ulasewicz
  • 2020 Third Team All-Patriot League

Navy’s Jennifer Coleman, coached by Colloton, went on to ultimately become the first program player to be named an Associated Press All-American after ranking top 10 within the country in points per game (22.2) during her senior season.

For the 2013-14 school year, Colloton spent time with the Indiana Hoosiers as a women’s basketball assistant coach. The team enjoyed its best start in program history that season at a 14-0 mark before landing a spot in the WNIT quarterfinals. Colloton also played a major part in helping sign a recruiting class that was ranked in the top 30 per the Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. Before being elevated to an assistant coach, the previous two years saw him handle responsibilities as a graduate assistant for the program from 2011-13.

On the professional side, Colloton worked as a WNBA Advanced Scout for the Los Angeles Sparks and Connecticut Sun during the 2017 and 2019 seasons.

A native of Arlington Heights, Illinois, Colloton attended Wittenberg University, where he got his start as a men’s basketball student assistant coach. He graduated in 2011 with a degree in Economics.

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