University of South Florida women’s basketball head coach Jose Fernandez announced the addition of Jesyka Burks-Wiley as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Bulls on Thursday.
“I am excited for the opportunity of joining a staff with a tradition of excellence,” said Burks-Wiley. “Not many programs can say they’ve made 13 postseason appearances in the last 14 years. I’m honored that a staff of this caliber asked me to join their staff, it’s hard to turn down.”
USF will be Burks-Wiley’s fifth stop in her coaching career, as the former professional forward has spent time at Nebraska-Omaha, UMass-Lowell, Brown and Boston College. The Bulls will make use of Burks-Wiley’s ability to evaluate talent and recruit, as well as her on-court instruction and strong knowledge of the game.
“Outside of recruiting,” added Burks-Wiley, “I’m looking forward to skill development for the forwards. We have some really great players, including Freshman of the Year Tamara Henshaw, that I look forward to mentoring.”
Burks-Wiley comes to Tampa after one season in the ACC at Boston College. Prior to her stop at BC, the former America East Player of the Year spent two seasons at Brown as an assistant coach and Director of Player Development. While at Brown, Burks-Wiley worked closely with the Ivy League’s unanimous Rookie of the Year, Shayna Mehta, whom she recruited from San Francisco.
In her first season with the Bears, Burks-Wiley mentored a pair of All-Ivy players, Sophie Bikofsky and Jordin Alexander, while helping the team finish second in the Ivy League in scoring (65.5 points per game) and first in steals (10.1 per game).
No stranger to building from the ground up, Burks-Wiley played a crucial role at UMass Lowell during the 2013-14 season where she acted as the recruiting coordinator for the River Hawks as they transitioned from a Division II program to Division I. Prior to Lowell, Burks-Wiley joined the Nebraska-Omaha staff as an assistant for the 2012-13 season, guiding the Mavericks to a 17-11 record overall in only their second year of Division I play.
A 2009 graduate of Boston University, she boasted a standout career for the Terriers, becoming one of only eight players to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in their career. A stellar final campaign saw the co-captain average 17.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, propelling her to America East Player of the Year honors and a Region I finalist for the 2009 State Farm Coaches’ All-America Basketball Team.
The Kansas City, Mo., native took her talents overseas after graduation, beginning with Romania ICIM Arad before making stops in the top leagues in Finland and Portugal. She concluded her professional career in Belgium, leading the Castor Braine squad to the second round of the league’s playoffs as the team’s leading scorer.
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Tagged with: American Athletic Conference Jesyka Burks-Wiley South Florida
