The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) women’s basketball head coach Lane Lord announced on Tuesday the hiring of Jurnee President as an assistant coach for the Vaqueros.
President spent the 2025-26 season as UTRGV’s graduate assistant coach. She focused on skill development and film & scouting, helping the Vaqueros to their historic 21-win season. UTRGV reached the second round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament after capturing the program’s first postseason road win at Austin Peay. The Vaqueros broke or matched 14 program records during their winningest season in program history, including conference wins (16), road wins (11), points scored in a season (2,315), field goals (817) and free throws made (476), rebounds (1,471), rebounds per game (42.0), and assists (519).
“I’m incredibly grateful and excited for the opportunity to continue my journey with UTRGV Women’s Basketball. Last season allowed me to learn the program, build relationships with our student-athletes, and grow as a coach. To now step into an assistant coach role is truly an honor,” President said. “I’m thankful to Coach Lord and the administration for believing in me, and I’m excited to continue helping our program compete at a high level while making a positive impact on our players both on and off the court.”
President joined the Vaqueros after a solid playing career and two seasons of collegiate coaching. The North Crowley product and 2017 McDonald’s All-American nominee played five years of college basketball and two years of professional hoops in Serbia and Armenia.
She started her collegiate career at New Mexico Junior College, helping the team reach the NJCAA Div. I national championship game in 2019. She made 68 starts and averaged 8.53 points, 3.47 rebounds and 2.31 assists per game during her JUCO career. President played at St. Bonaventure from 2019-21, averaging 5.60 points, 2.43 rebounds and 1.07 assists per game through 51 contests. She played her fifth year at Tarleton State as a graduate student, scoring 6.7 points per game with 2.0 rebounds and 1.89 assists per game while starting all 29 contests in the 2021-22 season.
President totaled 1,070 points throughout her collegiate career and earned a bachelor’s in criminology from St. Bonaventure and a Master of Science in kinesiology from Tarleton State. She transitioned to the sidelines and served as an assistant coach at Ranger College from 2023-24 and Westminster University from 2024-25.
“We are extremely excited to elevate Jurnee President from graduate assistant to full time assistant coach,” Lord said. “Jurnee excelled in her role last season. She really took over a lot of the skill development for some players that come in and get extra workouts. She knows our system, our staff and our players. We expect her to have a smooth transition after building relationships within the athletic department and the campus community. We’re glad she’s here.”
Player development, film analysis and scouting will continue to be key areas in which President is heavily involved for the Vaqueros. She’s also looking forward to playing a bigger role in recruiting, game preparation and player mentorship as she helps the coaching staff execute the vision for the program. She credited last season for providing valuable experience and a first-hand look at the day-to-day operations of a successful Div. I program as she observed and learned from a veteran staff while seeing her responsibilities increase as the season rolled on. Now, President is eager to put those lessons to work and continue growing as a coach as she guides the Vaqueros in her new role.
“I’m excited about the future and direction of our program. We have an outstanding group of student-athletes and staff, and I’m looking forward to continuing to build on the foundation we established last season,” President said. “My goal is to continue helping our players improve their skills while also contributing to every aspect of building a championship-level culture. The support from the university, our fans, and the community means so much, and I can’t wait to get back to work and represent UTRGV with pride.”
