Wofford College has named Jimmy Garrity head coach of the women’s basketball program. Garrity comes to Wofford after spending the last three years as head coach at Anderson University.
In the past three seasons, Anderson reached the NCAA Division II Tournament twice as an at-large selection and in 2015 advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. Garrity has coached the last two South Atlantic Conference Players of the Year. Prior to Anderson, Garrity coached at Clemson and UNC Wilmington.
“We are excited to introduce Jimmy Garrity as head coach of our women’s basketball team,” said Richard Johnson, Director of Athletics. “During our search, it became clear that he had all of the characteristics that we were looking for in a leader for this program. I thank the search committee for their hard work and look forward to working with Coach Garrity.”
“It is hard for me to put into words how humbled and excited I am to be named the head women’s basketball coach at Wofford,” said Jimmy Garrity. “I want to thank Dr. Nayef Samhat and Richard Johnson for their confidence in me for the incredible opportunity that lies ahead in leading this program. It is a great fit for both my family and myself and I am excited to be here. This is a special place and I have been overwhelmed by the family atmosphere not only in the athletic department, but in the campus community.”
Last season the Trojans were 23-7 overall, including a 79-55 win over Clemson to open the year. They were the South Atlantic Conference regular season champions with an 18-4 record and were nationally ranked in the top 25. The squad was an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament. As the #5 seed, they advanced to the second round after a win over #4 seed Clayton State. Senior forward Jennifer Monroe was named the SAC Player of the Year and first team All-Southeast Region. Junior guard Heather Jankowy earned SAC second team honors.
Stringing together one of the program’s best seasons in 2014-15, Garrity was tabbed South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year. Garrity led the Trojans to a 27-5 overall record and a berth into the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Prior to the postseason run, Garrity became the first coach in conference history to win 20 league games, finishing the season with a 20-2 SAC record and a regular-season championship. Garrity also saw point guard Sierra Simpson earn SAC Player of the Year and SAC first team honors.
In his first season at Anderson in 2013-14, Garrity led the Trojans to a 16-14 overall record and an 11-11 mark in SAC play. Anderson placed three players on all-conference teams, including Simpson’s All-SAC second team honor and Alexis Dillard’s all-freshman team spot.
Garrity spent the 2012-13 season at Clemson University as the women’s basketball assistant coach. With the Tigers, Garrity was in charge of scouting, practice planning, game scheduling, coordinating of the guards, community service and alumni relations. Garrity also monitored the academic success of the student-athletes.
Before spending a season at Clemson, Garrity spent a decade in various capacities with the UNC Wilmington basketball program. He was hired as the Director of Basketball Operations in 2002 for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams. Once the position spilt into two different roles, Garrity took over just the women’s side while also becoming an assistant coach in 2007. Continuing his tenure with UNCW, Garrity was promoted to the associate head coach role in 2011 and coached his team to the second round of the WNIT.
Garrity graduated from Elon in 1989 with a degree in business administration and marketing and later earned a Master’s in sports administration from St. Thomas University in Miami, Fla. in 1990.
Garrity is married to Jenny Garrity, who served as UNCW’s women’s tennis coach for 13 seasons. The couple have two daughters Kacey and Carly, and a son Corey.
Individual Player Accomplishments under Coach Garrity
– SAC Player of the Year (2)
– SAC All-Conference Players (4)
– SAC All-Rookie Team (1)
– SAC Honorable Mention Team (3)
– SAC All-Tournament Team (4)
– NCAA All-Southeast Region Team (2)
– CAA Player, Rookie of the Year (3)
– CAA Tournament MVP (2)
– CAA Defensive Player of the Year
– All – CAA Players (9)
– Dean Ehlers Leadership Award (2)
– CAA All-Academic Honor Roll (6)
– ACC All-Academic Honor Roll (1)
– Former Players in Professional Basketball (13)
South Atlantic Conference Record (49-17), Overall Record (66-25)
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