A familiar face is returning to the Tarleton women’s basketball bench as Misty Wilson has announced the addition of Jake Stevens as the Texans’ newest assistant coach.
Stevens spent the past four years as an assistant coach at Tarleton’s former Lone Star Conference foe Texas Woman’s University after serving on Wilson’s staff from 2014-2017. He worked two years as a graduate assistant before being elevated to an assistant coach during the 2016-17 season.
Stevens engineered one of the program’s most memorable postseason runs alongside Wilson in his first year as an assistant. He helped Tarleton win the 2017 LSC Tournament Championship as the No. 5 seed and earn its first NCAA Tournament berth since the 2013-14 season and first under Wilson.
“Jake and I began working together when he became a graduate assistant for me about seven years ago,” Wilson said. “He was an integral part of our LSC Tournament Championship and regular season successes during his time here. Jake has a great understanding of what this program was built on and where we want to get to as a Division I program.
“He has some valuable experience and relationships in recruiting that will bode well for our program,” Wilson continued. “Jake has displayed a great deal of love and loyalty to our program, and I am excited that he chose to join back up with our staff as we continue our Division I transition.”
While at Tarleton, Stevens served as the program’s summer camp coordinator and leant his efforts to all aspects of team operations, such as recruiting, scheduling and player development. Tarleton posted an overall record of 50-36 and a 31-21 mark in conference play with Stevens on staff.
A native of Oakwood, Texas, Stevens graduated from Tarleton in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in fitness management. He then earned his master’s degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in interdisciplinary studies in 2016.
Stevens departed for TWU to serve as the program’s lead assistant following Tarleton’s postseason breakthrough. His first two years in Denton saw the Pioneers make consecutive LSC Tournament appearances.
TWU has since been one of the stingier defensive teams in the LSC. The Pioneers limited opponents to 60.3 points per game over Stevens’ final two seasons. TWU ranked in the top-half of the conference in most major defensive statistical categories during the truncated 2020-21 season, including 3-point field goal percent defense (4th, .284), opponent field goal percentage (5th, .372) and opponent point per game (8th, 63.9).
Stevens made his foray into the teaching and coaching world in 2012-13 at Cherokee High School as an assistant boys’ basketball and assistant football coach. The Indians qualified for the postseason in both sports under Stevens’ direction. The football team captured a bi-district championship in Class A Division II while Stevens’ basketball team was a bi-district Division I qualifier.
He then spent the 2013-14 season as a teacher and an assistant boys’ basketball coach at Westwood High School. Stevens also worked as a head junior varsity and an assistant varsity baseball coach and head junior high football coach at Westwood.
Stevens earned four varsity letters apiece in basketball and baseball at Oakwood High School prior to attending Tarleton. He resides in Stephenville with his wife, Rachel and son, Griffin.
