The George Washington women’s basketball program and head coach Caroline McCombs have announced the addition of three members to the coaching staff ahead of the 2024-25 season. The new arrivals include Jasmyn Walker (Assistant Coach), Amy Pryor (Assistant Coach) and Carolina Blanco (Director of Basketball Operations).
“I’m thrilled with the people we have sought out to fill our staff here in Foggy Bottom,” McCombs said. “We feel like we have brought in three incredible people whose infectious and positive energy will translate to continued success for our young women both on and off the court.”
Jasmyn Walker, Assistant Coach
“Jasmyn is a rising star in the profession,” McCombs said. “She was a fierce competitor on the court in her playing days and has transitioned smoothly onto the sidelines. Jasmyn has an infectious personality and will be someone our players and recruits gravitate towards. She will be instrumental in our continued recruiting efforts and player development at GW.”
Walker arrives in Foggy Bottom after spending one season as an assistant with the Purdue Fort Wayne women’s basketball program during the 2023-24 season. Walker helped contribute to a staff that led the Mastodons to a 23-13 overall record and a second-round berth in the Horizon League Championship. Following the conference tournament, Walker and Purdue Fort Wayne were selected to participate in the WNIT, winning a first-round matchup against Eastern Kentucky and a second-round meeting with Cincinnati, before falling to eventual WNIT Champions Saint Louis in the Super 16.
The 23 wins tied the program record for most victories in a single season, while Walker also helped lead the squad to records in single-season points, 3-pointers and rebounds. The ‘Dons also tied the program record with 12 home wins and 11 victories on the road.
During her playing days, Walker was a standout student-athlete at Valparaiso and Western Michigan. She spent the first two seasons of her collegiate career at Valpo where she earned Horizon League All-Freshman Team accolades and set the program record for rebounds by a first-year student with 250. She started every game in her rookie season, averaging 10.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest. During her sophomore season, Walker showed continued growth, averaging 12.2 points and 8.0 rebounds a night.
Following her sophomore season, Walker transferred to Western Michigan where she sat out of the 2016-17 season due to NCAA transfer rules. Once returning to the court, she made an instant impact with the Broncos, averaging 8.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. During her senior season, Walker tallied 10.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game to complete her collegiate career. In total, she tallied 1,147 points in 111 career games.
Prior to working with the Mastodons in 2023, Walker served as the Coordinator of Recruiting and Creative Content at Butler. She also worked as an assistant coach at Ferris State and Davenport University.
Amy Pryor, Assistant Coach
“Amy has worn a lot of different hats throughout her professional career, but the consistent trait I have heard and am learning about Amy is that her work ethic is unmatched,” McCombs said. “Amy has great energy and loves being on the court with the players. She will be looked upon to be a positive mentor for our young women in all aspects of their lives.”
Pryor joins the GW family after two seasons with the Eastern Michigan women’s basketball program. During her first year in 2022-23, Pryor served as the Director of Basketball Operations before transitioning to an assistant coach role for the 2023-24 season.
Pryor brings a wealth of experience both in collegiate athletics and coaching at the youth level. Before landing at Eastern Michigan, Pryor was a personal trainer at Cross Timbers in Grapevine, Texas. In that role, her responsibilities included organizing daily practices, communication with clients and athletes and organizing all training calendars for the year.
Along with her time as a trainer, Pryor has made multiple stops as a high school coach. During the 2020-21 season, she served as the assistant coach for the West Mesquite High School girls basketball team before stepping in as the team’s interim head coach. Pryor stayed in this role for the remainder of the season and was tasked with coordinating all team travel, postgame meals and team academic support along with her standard coaching duties.
Pryor’s first stop as a collegiate coach came back in 2010-11 as an assistant with Northern Oklahoma College’s women’s basketball team. During her lone season, she coordinated the team’s recruiting program while also developing the team’s guards on the offensive end of the floor. After one year with the Mavericks, Pryor transitioned into an assistant role with Eastern New Mexico State from 2011-13. She primarily worked with recruiting, meal preparation and creating travel itineraries while with the Greyhounds.
As a player, Pryor began her collegiate career at Northern Oklahoma – Tonkawa, where she led the program in field goals made. After two seasons, she then transferred to Oral Roberts and played one year with the Golden Eagles. Pryor completed her collegiate career at Oklahoma Baptist, spending one season with the Bison as a senior.
Pryor earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Physiology from Oklahoma Baptist in 2010.
Carolina Blanco, Director of Basketball Operations
“We are fortunate to find someone with Carolina’s experience for our program,” said McCombs. “She has worked alongside some of the world’s best professional basketball players and has a great knowledge and passion for our sport. She will be a tremendous asset to us both in our day-to-day operations and in the long term with her relationships and connections around the world.”
Blanco lands with GW women’s basketball after accumulating over 20 years of professional experience in various fields. Most recently, Blanco served as the Operations Consultant for 318 Foundations, primarily managing the company’s finances while also assisting in streamlining operation procedures and performance human resource tasks. Along with her role with 318 Foundations, Blanco also served as a Business Development Concierge for Select Innovations. She primarily worked in developing business relationships and partnerships with company clients while also looking to increase sources of revenue.
Within the sports world, Blanco served as the Executive Director of Sports International Group (SIG) from 2003-21. Operating for over 26 years, SIG is a sports agency that focuses on representing top men’s and women’s basketball players, coaches and collegiate players. Included in their impressive list of clients is GW Athletics Hall of Famer Jonquel Jones.
With SIG, Blanco oversaw day-to-day operations for all divisions within the company. She worked from the ground up in developing both the women’s basketball and the coaching division of the company, helping the women’s basketball side to grow into the most successful sector for the business, representing over 50% of the company’s revenue. She also assisted in the company’s marketing efforts, as well as recruiting and onboarding new clients.
A graduate of Duquesne University, Blanco earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a minor in Communications.
https://gwsports.com/news/2024/6/5/womens-basketball-womens-basketball-adds-three-to-coaching-staff
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