A familiar face is returning to the Youngstown State women's basketball coaching staff as Teonna Jewell is rejoining the program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
Jewell, who was YSU's Director of Operations from 2015-17, is coming back to Youngstown after spending the previous two seasons as the Recruiting Coordinator at St. Thomas. She has 12 years of coaching experience, including the last eight at the Division I level.
"I'm thrilled to have Teonna back at YSU," said YSU acting head coach John Nicolais. "Working alongside her in the past, I have witnessed first-hand her blue-collar work ethic and ability to connect with people. Her energy and enthusiasm is contagious. Teonna has a knack for building relationships with recruits and has 11 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level. We have landed a great coach and an even better person."
In her most recent position as St. Thomas' recruiting coordinator, Jewell helped the Tommies take a big step forward in their transition to Division I. St. Thomas went 7-21 in its first season at the Division I level in Jewell's first season in 2021-22, and the program located in Saint Paul, Minn., increased its win total by six in 2022-23. That 2022-23 campaign included a strong finish where the Tommies won a game in the Summit League Tournament and finished the season by winning five of their final seven contests.
Between her time at St. Thomas and her first stint as a Penguin, Jewell spent four seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Austin Peay. In her time in Clarksville, Tenn., Jewell worked extensively with the student-athlete recruitment process, game strategy, practice preparation, and team academic management. The Governors finished with a record of at least .500 in all four of her seasons, and Jewell's recruiting efforts helped APSU to records of 20-13 and 17-12 in the two years after she went to St. Thomas.
In her two years at YSU, Jewell was responsible for the daily operations and logistics of the program alongside Nicolais and Coach John Barnes. Her duties included coordinating the team's travel, budget maintenance, compliance, helping with social media and organizing summer camps. The Penguins won 21 games and advanced Women's Basketball Invitational Semifinals in Jewell's first season at YSU in 2015-16.
As an assistant coach at Davis & Elkins, Jewell helped her alma mater average more than 14 wins. That came after the Senators had five years the year prior to her joining the staff. Jewell also served as an assistant volleyball coach and graduate assistant athletic trainer in 2010-11 at Davis & Elkins in Elkins, W. Va.
Jewell's career as a student-athlete began at Hagerstown Community College in Maryland where she was a two-year starter and helped the Hawks to a No. 6 national ranking. She went on to play her final two years at Davis & Elkins, starting both seasons and earning All-WVIAC honors.
Jewell earned her Associate of Arts degree in Health Sports and Leisure Studies from Hagerstown Community College in 2008, and she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science from Davis & Elkins in 2010. She received a Master of Science degree in Athletic Training at West Virginia Wesleyan College in 2011.
