Converse College has selected Samantha Davidson as the head coach for the Valkyries’ Women’s Basketball team. Davidson comes to Converse from Schreiner University, where she has coached for the last four years, and currently serves as the head coach.
“We are thrilled to have Coach Davidson join our staff as our new women’s basketball coach. Throughout the interview process, we were impressed to learn about her strong commitment to developing student-athletes on and off the court,” said Converse Director of Athletics Jenn Bell. “Sam has proven to be a tremendous mentor to her student-athletes, and we look forward to seeing our team thrive under her leadership. Our team is extremely talented and will truly benefit from working with her, as we work to build a winning program in the years to come.”
During her four years at Schreiner, Davidson coached six student-athletes who received all-conference honors while competing in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. Accolades include four second team, four third team, one honorable mention, and one newcomer of the year award. Additionally, 14 student-athletes were named to the All-SCAC Academic Honor Roll.
Davidson inherited a Schreiner team that went 11-16 overall and 8-6 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play, finishing fourth in the league during the regular season and advancing to the SCAC Tournament semifinals. During the 2020-21 season, the team finished with an overall record of 7-4, placing the Mountaineers fourth in the conference. The team led the conference in defensive field goal percentage and offensive rebounding and finished in the top three in all defensive categories.
Davidson was a four-year standout player for former Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference member Birmingham Southern and was at Rhodes College for two seasons under head coach Matt Dean before coming to Schreiner. During her tenure at Rhodes, Davidson coached five All-SAA players. The team finished in the league’s top three in all defensive categories and also finished second in the league in three-point shooting. She was also responsible for two very strong recruiting classes for the Lynx.
Prior to her time at Rhodes, Davidson served as assistant girl’s basketball coach for Webb School (TN) and helped the team win a state title in her one year in the position. Prior to that, she served under Hall-of-Fame head coach Pat Summitt at the University of Tennessee for one year. While on the Lady Vols staff, she worked with current UT head coach Holly Warlick.
At BSC, Davidson was a three-year starter and four year player who ended her career in the program’s top five in career assists and the top-10 in 3-pointers made, 3-point shooting percentage and free throw percentage.
“I am honored and grateful to be named the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Converse College. I am thankful for President Newkirk and Director of Athletics, Jenn Bell, for giving me the opportunity to lead this program,” said Coach Davidson. “I am excited about the opportunity to work under the direction and leadership of Jenn and to be working with a strong group of coaches. I am looking forward to working with the young ladies in the program, helping them grow on the court and in the classroom, and to helping grow the program to be among the best in the conference.”
Converse is home to the only NCAA Division II athletic teams in Spartanburg and is a member of Conference Carolinas, whose membership is made up of private colleges and universities across the southeastern United States.
