John Nicolais served as the interim head coach of the Youngstown State University women's basketball program in 2023-24 in what was his 11th season in Youngstown. He previously served as an Associate Head Coach and an assistant coach with John Barnes from 2013-14 through 2022-23.
Throughout his tenure as an assistant at YSU, Nicolais (pronounced NICK-oh-lay) was in charge of game scheduling, assisting with player development, game preparation and opponent scouting. He also serves as a liaison to the strength and conditioning coach, oversees the male practice squad and is active in the recruiting process. He assumed a larger role in the team’s defensive strategy prior to the 2018-19 season when he took on duties as associate head coach.
The Penguins enjoyed an impressive stretch of success since Nicolais arrived on campus with Barnes in 2013. Youngstown State played in a postseason tournament five times and was on the WBCA Top 25 Academic Honor Roll 10 times, and it reached a new height in 2021-22 by winning the first Horizon League regular-season title in school history.
Nicolais and the Penguins battled through adversity in a challenging 2023-24 season to still post 14 wins overall and nine Horizon League victories. Nicolais was named acting head coach when Barnes went on personal family leave on Oct. 2, shortly after the start of official practice, and he served as the program’s interim head coach after Barnes officially resigned on Jan. 19.
The Penguins went on a surge over the second half of the season and had a chance to finish as high as fourth in the conference standings entering the final week of the regular season. After starting 6-12, Youngstown State went 8-6 down the stretch, including going 5-2 in February and posting the program’s first victory in the Horizon League tournament since 2019. Four of those five victories in February were on the road, and YSU beat IUPUI 73-50 in the first round of the tournament.
Individually, Emily Saunders was named to the All-Horizon League Third Team and All-Defensive Team in her fifth season. Saunders ended the regular season ranking among the top 20 players in the country in field-goal percentage and blocks per game, and her 73 blocks were the second-most ever by a Penguin. Mady Aulbach, a three-year team captain, earned the inaugural Horizon League Sportsmanship Award.
Saunders had the best year of her career by fa as she averaged 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds, up from previous career highs of 4.3 points and 2.2 rebounds. She had 45 more blocks than any other season of her career. Dena Jarrells eclipsed 1,000 career points and 200 career 3-pointers while averaging a career-best 10.6 points, and Shay-Lee Kirby set new career highs with 8.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per contest.
On the individual level before he became interim head coach, Nicolais helped develop seven players who have set school records. Among the student-athletes Nicolais directly worked with in player development are Liz Hornberger, Nikki Arbanas, Sarah Cash, Alison Smolinski, Indiya Benjamin, Chelsea Olson and Maddie Schires.
Hornberger was a senior in Nicolais’ first season, and she made a career-high 80 3-pointers that season en route to setting the career record with 199. That record went on to be broken by Arbanas, Benjamin and Smolinski.
Nicolais coached Cash during the 2015-16 campaign in which she set a school record and ranked fourth in the country with a .600 field-goal percentage. That season she also became the first player in program history to lead the team in points, rebounds, blocks and steals in the same season. Cash finished her career holding YSU career marks for games played (135) and field-goal percentage (.570). She was named Second-Team All-Horizon League and the team’s Coach DiGregorio MVP in 2015-16 and 2018-19.
Arbanas and Smolinski rewrote the 3-pointers portion of the record book as members of Nicolais’ individual workout groups. Arbanas spent three active years on campus, and she held records for 3s in a career (209) and a season (89) at the end of her career in 2017-18. Smolinski went on to smash those records in 2018-19, and she ended her career holding every program record for 3-point volume – 3s in a game (9), season (109) and career (262) as well as consecutive games with a 3 (27). She also broke the Horizon League single-season 3-pointers record.
Nicolais coached Benjamin during her freshman season when she was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman team. Benjamin went on to set school records for career assists, minutes, games played and games started, and she led the conference in assists in each of her last three seasons.
Olson, a senior on the 2021-22 championship team, set career records for games, minutes and starts and finished among the top 11 in program history in many categories, including points, assists, 3-pointers and blocks. A five-year member of Nicolais’ group, the versatile Olson earned All-Horizon League recognition five times in her career.
Schires had an outstanding first season on campus as she made 65 3-pointers to break the program’s freshman record that was previously held by Arbanas. Schires ranked third in the Horizon League in 3-pointers per game, and only 10 Division I freshmen made more 3s than she did in 2019-20.
The Penguins entered the 2022-23 season with high expectations, and they posted 19 wins overall and 13 Horizon League victories in 2022-23. It was the fifth time in Nicolais’ tenure that the Penguins won at least 19 games, and YSU won at least 13 Horizon League contests for the third time in the last five seasons.
In 2021-22, YSU captured the program's first regular-season conference title in 23 years. Youngstown State finished the season 24-7, winning at least 24 games for the third time in program history and for the first time since 1997-98. After an 8-0 start, YSU followed a loss at Penn State with a seven-game winning streak from Dec. 17 through Jan. 14. YSU then had a five-game winning streak in February, giving the Penguins three separate winning streaks of at least five games for the second season in school history (also in 1996-97). YSU set a new school record for conference wins, regardless of conference with 18, and the Penguins also tied the Horizon League record for conference wins, matching IUPUI in 2021-22 and Green Bay in 2008-09 and 2010-11. At 9-0, YSU had its best start ever to conference play.
YSU’s success was fueled on the defensive end of the floor. The Penguins held opponents to 57.2 points per game for their best scoring defense since joining the Division I level in 1981-82. Further, YSU’s field-goal percentage defense was its best in 27 years. As a result, Lilly Ritz and Mady Aulbach were both voted to the Horizon League’s five-member All-Defensive Team.
The Penguins won 10 of their final 15 games in 2020-21 and led the Horizon League in 3-pointers per game for the seventh straight campaign. YSU had its best field-goal percentage in 23 seasons at 44.6 percent, and it had its best 3-point field-goal percentage in six years at 34 percent. Olson was one of a league-best three players to earn all-conference accolades, and YSU won a game in the Horizon League tournament for the sixth time in the staff's eight seasons.
The 2019-20 season saw the Penguins battle through injuries to still win 13 games and post impressive numbers. YSU ranked third in the country in free-throw percentage at 79.6 percent, which was also a new school record. The Penguins additionally made at least 200 3-pointers for the 10th straight season and led the Horizon League in 3-pointers per game for the sixth straight campaign.
In 2018-19, Youngstown State went 22-10 and earned an at-large berth into the Women’s NIT. The Penguins won at least 21 games for the third time in six seasons, and they set new program records with 16 home victories and 13 Horizon League wins. The coaching staff celebrated its 100th victory at YSU as well during the season.
In 2017-18, the Penguins overcame early adversity and posted their best February record in 20 years to qualify for the Women’s Basketball Invitational tournament. YSU went 7-1 in February and won nine of its final 11 games of the regular season to climb up to a tie for fourth in the Horizon League standings. The Penguins set a school record for consecutive conference road victories by winning their final six Horizon League road contests.
The 2015-16 team showed grit and resilience to finish 21-13 and advance to the semifinals of the WBI. The Penguins trailed by at least eight in eight of their victories, and they were down by as many as 14 points four times in wins. YSU won in the final five seconds five times.
In his second year with program, the Penguins reached the WNIT for just the second time in the program's history. YSU won 21 games in 2014-15 and were 10-0 for the first time at the Division I level. Fifth-year senior Latisha Walker, a member of Nicolais’ individual group, set career highs with 10.4 points and 7.4 rebounds and ranked in the top three in the conference in free-throw percentage, blocks and field-goal percentage.
In the staff's first season in 2013-14, the Penguins overachieved to finish third in the Horizon League and advance to the semifinals of the conference tournament. A hungry group of seniors helped YSU win its first six Horizon League games and earn a regular-season sweep of Green Bay.
Nicolais came to Youngstown as a highly-respected assistant at the Division II level over the previous 10 years. He helped Drury University to 101 wins over a five-year span, and he spent five years at Glenville State when the Lady Pioneers went 145-22. Nicolais' teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament nine times in his 10 seasons.
Nicolais was responsible for working with the Drury perimeter players and coached two All-Americans and a squad that was consistently among the best in 3-point shooting percentage. During the 2009-10 season, Drury led the country in field-goal percentage (.491) and 3-point field-goal percentage (.453). Katie Pritchard led Division II in 3-point field goal percentage in 2009-10 (.505) and 2010-11 (.492), and teammate and All-American Lindsay Ballweg ranked second in the country in 3-point shooting in 2009-10 (.500).
Nicolais also helped with monitoring academic progress at Drury, and the Lady Panthers had the nation's top grade-point average in 2011-12 regardless of division with a 3.709. They had a 3.591 GPA in 2010-11, which was third in Division II.
Drury, located in Springfield, Mo., was 19-10 and went to the NCAA Tournament in Nicolais' first season on the bench in 2008-09. The Lady Panthers then went 28-7 while winning the Great Lakes Valley Conference and advanced to the Sweet 16 the following season. Drury won the GLVC West Division title and finished with 20 wins in each of the next two seasons. The Lady Panthers went 14-13 in 2012-13.
At Glenville State in West Virginia, Nicolais worked directly with two All-Americans and the WVIAC and GSC's all-time leading scorer as the perimeter coach. The Lady Pioneers were 33-3 in 2006-07, 30-3 in 2005-06, 24-8 in 2004-05, and 29-4 in both 2003-04 and 2002-03. Glenville State went 84-6 in West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contests in Nicolais' five years while winning conference championships in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007.
Prior to joining Glenville State, Nicolais was an assistant coach at Gilmer County High School in Glenville, W.Va. His team in 2001 advanced to the state title game. Nicolais also served as head volleyball coach at Gilmer from 2000-03 and led his squad to a 115-47 record. The Titans advanced to the state semifinals in 2001 and 2003, and his 2003 squad won the West Virginia Class A State Championship with a 45-7 record. For his efforts, he was recognized as the West Virginia Coaches Association Region II Coach of the Year.
Nicolais is a native of Elizabeth, W. Va. His wife Carrie, an occupational therapist, and he reside in Canfield, Ohio, with their daughters, Harper and Hailey.
Coaching Timeline
2023-24— Youngstown State Interim Head Coach
2018-23 — Youngstown State Associate Head CoachÂ
2013-18 — Youngstown State Assistant and Coach
2008-13 — Drury Assistant Coach
2003-08 — Glenville State Assistant Coach
