UNT women’s basketball head coach Jason Burton has announced the hiring of Will Watkins as Assistant Coach and Director of Recruiting and Player Development.
Watkins comes to Denton with experience in Division I, the NBA and the WNBA as well as previous ties to Burton and UNT’s associate coach Durmon Jennings.
“Anytime you can bring a coach back that has won with you previously it’s a great a day,” Burton said. “Will is extra special to me because his first job out of college was volunteering with our staff at Texas A&M Commerce for a year, in which he was a part of us getting off to a 25-0 start, earning a No. 1 national ranking and winning a conference championship. His hard work, recruiting, scouting, energy and passion for basketball make him a great fit for our culture. I’m excited for the opportunity to work with him again.”
Most recently, Watkins was on staff for two years at UT Arlington as the director of player development. During his time at UTA, the Mavericks posted a pair of winning seasons and earned a berth to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament in 2025.
Prior to his two years at UT Arlington, Watkins had a pair of stints with the WNBA’s Dallas Wings working in various roles, including basketball analytics, video coordinator and a basketball operations assistant. In between his tenures with the Wings, he served as the video coordinator for Wisconsin women’s basketball.
His familiarity with Burton stems from a video coordinator role with Texas A&M-Commerce during the 2019-20 season. In his lone year on staff, the Lions went 28-3 before the NCAA Division II Championship was canceled. He moved on the next year to serve as a graduate assistant at Eastern New Mexico University.
Watkins spent two and a half years as a front office intern with the Milwaukee Bucks while attending the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. He graduated from Wisconsin-Parkside with a bachelor’s degree in communications and media studies.
Tagged with: American Athletic Conference
