Wagner College President Joel W. Martin and Director of Athletics Walt Hameline have announced the promotion of Terrell Coburn as Wagner’s tenth head women’s basketball coach. Coburn’s promotion follows the departure of Heather Jacobs, who announced her resignation on Monday.
“Coach Coburn has earned this position through his leadership and unyielding commitment to the student athletes of Wagner College,” President Martin commented. “I have attended many games and it has been a great joy to see the growth of Wagner Women’s Basketball. I’m excited for its future under Head Coach Coburn.”
“We are thrilled to announce that Terrell Coburn has been named the head women’s basketball coach at Wagner,” said Hameline. “In elevating Coach Coburn, we are continuing to build on the foundation that he has helped establish. He has an incredible work ethic, enthusiasm, and commitment to student-athlete development, both on and off the court. He will provide our program with great leadership and a strong vision.”
Coburn, who becomes the first African American head coach in program history, has been a major contributor to the Seahawks’ recent success, serving as an assistant coach over the past five seasons, where he oversaw the team’s defensive strategies, opponent scouting, player development and recruiting efforts.
“I am extremely blessed and appreciative for the opportunity to lead the Wagner women’s basketball program,” Coburn said. “Thank you to President Martin and Walt Hameline for entrusting me with this position. I would like to thank my family, friends, and mentors for their unwavering amounts of love and support. I am thrilled and excited to continue to build upon the foundation we have established and we will continue to grow as a team to reach new heights.”
Coburn, the top assistant under Jacobs, was instrumental in the turnaround of the women’s basketball program. The Seahawks ranked in the top two in the Northeast Conference (NEC) in several statistical categories, while finishing 21st nationally in turnovers forced, as the Wagner defense created 19.8 opponent mishaps per contest this season.
Inheriting a team that won ten games in two seasons, Jacobs led the Seahawks to three consecutive NEC Tournament berths in the last three seasons. This year, Wagner clinched the No. 2 seed and played for the league title for the first time in nearly 20 years.
“I would like to thank President Martin, President Guarasci, Walt Hameline, Peg Hefferan, Tatum Colitz, Katie Russell, and the entire Wagner community for everything over my five years here at Wagner,” said Jacobs. “Thank you to my staff for their relentless dedication and hard work in reshaping the culture here at Wagner. Finally, I would like to thank my players. Thank you for giving this program your very best and allowing me to be part of your journey. I am, and will always be grateful to have been a Seahawk.”
“We are appreciative to Heather for her leadership and commitment to our women’s basketball program over the past five years,” Hameline said. “She worked tirelessly in revamping the program and got the best out of the student-athletes. We wish Heather continued success in all her endeavors.”
Over her five-year tenure as head coach at Wagner, Jacobs had five players earn All-NEC honors, three Metropolitan Basketball Writers’ Association (MBWA) selections, an NEC Most Improved Player of the Year recipient, an NEC Rookie of the Year winner, and an NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honoree.
Coach Coburn has been a driving force of improvement for several Seahawks, most notably Emilija Krista Grava, who was named to her second straight All-NEC First Team this past season. Krista Grava finished third in league scoring (14.3 ppg) and among the top-20 in rebounding (5.6 rpg). In addition to Krista Grava, Khaleah Edwards and Kem Nwabudu were among the top-25 in scoring, while Zhaneia Thybulle finished second in the conference in assists, averaging nearly 5.0 helpers per game.
Coburn began his coaching journey as a graduate assistant before moving into a director of player development role at his alma mater, the University of Central Arkansas. In his two seasons with the Sugar Bears, the team went a combined 42-22, while qualifying for the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI) in 2011.
Following his time at Central Arkansas, Coburn accepted an assistant coaching position at Long Island University, where he spent five seasons.
While at LIU, the Blackbirds qualified for the NEC Tournament in four of the five seasons while notching the biggest win in program history, defeating Big 12 member, Oklahoma State.
A large part of the Blackbirds success was thanks to the recruiting efforts by Coburn. In 2013 and 2014, LIU ranked among the nation’s top-50 recruiting classes, according to Dan Olsen’s Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. Coburn targeted student-athletes from California, Florida, Texas, New Jersey and New York to attend the Downtown Brooklyn institution.
Before accepting the assistant coaching position at Wagner, Coburn was on the sidelines as an assistant at ASA College in Downtown Brooklyn. There he helped guide the Avengers to a 22-4 record in 2015-16. ASA reached the Elite Eight of the NJCAA National tournament that season.
Coburn currently resides in Brooklyn with his wife, Geneen, and daughter, Taylor.
https://wagnerathletics.com/news/2021/4/28/terrell-coburn-named-head-womens-basketball-coach.aspx
