Nevada women’s basketball head coach Amanda Levens announced the hiring of Jazmin Pitts as the team’s new assistant coach for the 2019-20 season.
“We are fortunate to add Jazmin back to our staff,” said Levens. “She was a tremendous addition to our staff two years ago and her familiarity with Coach Gonsalves and I will be a huge asset to building our program. Jazmin’s love of the game, strong work ethic and ability to connect with young people are going to make her an excellent coach at the college level.”
Pitts is no stranger to the Wolf Pack, having served as a graduate assistant during the 2017-18 campaign. During that season Pitts helped the Wolf Pack to its first winning season in four years, winning 19 games, second-most in program history. Nevada began the Mountain West Tournament as the No. 7 seed and picked up upset after upset, defeating No. 2 UNLV in double overtime and No. 3 Wyoming to reach its first ever Mountain West Championship game. Nevada went on to reach the semifinals of the Women’s Basketball Invitational, just its fourth postseason appearance in program history.
“I am elated to be back in Reno with the Pack. This position has been a dream for me since the first time I came to Nevada and now it has finally come true!” said Pitts. “I couldn’t be more excited to start this new journey and to help elevate this program in any way that I possibly can. I’m very grateful to Coach Levens for this opportunity and am ready to hit the ground running.”
Before making her return to Reno, Pitts worked as a personal and professional development coordinator at her alma mater, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville (SIUE), in the School of Pharmacy. She also served as head girls basketball coach at Alton High School in Alton, Ill.
Prior to her first stint with the Wolf Pack, Pitts spent two seasons as the head coach at Wirth Middle School in Cahokia, Ill. She also served as the freshmen coach and assisted with the junior varsity and varsity teams at Cahokia High School. In 2014 Pitts accepted a position as the women’s director of the Lady Jets AAU Basketball Club.
Pitts played her college basketball at SIUE from 2010-14. During her first two seasons with the Cougars she played under Levens when she was the head coach at SIUE. Current Wolf Pack assistant coach Laura Gonsalves was also part of the coaching staff during Pitts’ freshman and sophomore seasons.
During her college career she totaled nearly 1,000 points and finished 21st on the all-time scoring list at SIUE. Additionally she ended her collegiate career second all-time in three-point field goals made. As a freshman she led the team in scoring average and broke the freshman record for three-pointers in a single season with 74.
A native of O’Fallon, Ill., Pitts earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southern Illinois, Edwardsville in 2014 and 2016, respectively. Her and her husband, Darin, will reside in Reno with their one-year-old daughter, Daiyah.
