Sharrona Reaves Named Girls' Basketball Head Coach

6/3/2024

Ensworth is pleased to announce the hiring of Sharrona Reaves as head coach for the high school girls’ basketball team.

Reaves is a former NCAA Division I women’s basketball coach and recruiter with over 20 years of experience leading and developing young women in athletics. Coach Reaves joined The University of Tennessee’s Lady Vols basketball program in 2016 as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under Head Coach Holly Warlick. In 2017, Reaves successfully led Tennessee's approach in signing the No. 1 recruiting class. She then recruited the No. 4-rated group in 2018 and the No. 8 class in 2019.

Prior to joining the Lady Vols, Reaves spent three seasons at West Virginia University as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Head Coach Mike Carey. During her time at WVU, the Mountaineers secured a 78-30 record, including a No. 2 NCAA seed, a Big 12 regular season title, and a 30-5 record for the 2013-14 season. The team also achieved a WNIT runner-up finish (2014-15) and an NCAA second round outcome as the No. 6 seed (2015-16). Coach Reaves was pivotal in helping develop the program's highest-ranked WNBA Draft pick in 2016, going in the first round to the Atlanta Dream.

Throughout her extensive coaching career, Reaves has also served as head coach at Long Island University C.W. Post, head coach at the College of Central Florida, assistant coach at Mississippi State, and assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Troy University. At Mississippi State, Reaves helped coach her team to the 2010 NCAA Sweet Sixteen. During her time at Post, Reaves led the Pioneers to the East Coast Conference Championship game and two consecutive winning seasons (2006-07 and 2007-08), their first back-to-back winning seasons in 14 years. While coaching at Troy, the women’s basketball team won their first Mid-Continent Conference Championship (1997), which was also the team’s first NCAA appearance in the school’s history.

A native of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Reaves played for Oakland High School before earning her bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama, where she played on the women’s basketball team as a forward and helped lead the Crimson Tide to two NCAA tournament appearances, including the Sweet 16 and the Final Four the year Reaves was named team captain.

“Sharrona brings a great deal of experience to our program and her passion for the game of basketball is undeniable,” said Ensworth Athletics Director Jason Maxwell. “Sharrona is a person of high integrity, and she will continue the tradition of excellence set forth by her predecessor, Mary Cowles.”

Coach Reaves shared, “I am deeply honored to be named the Head Girls Basketball Coach at Ensworth. This program has always been known for winning championships, and it is my intention to continue the legacy and respect built by Mary Cowles. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Head of School Prentice Stabler and Athletics Director Jason Maxwell for this great opportunity. I am excited to be a part of the Ensworth Community!”

Ensworth’s girls basketball team has won seven State Championship titles and finished runner-up five times. Two former Ensworth players were named Miss Basketball five consecutive years; Dontavia Waggoner was honored in 2019 and 2020, and Jaloni Cambridge received the award in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Ensworth has successfully helped several players continue their athletic careers in college including several division I programs. Some former players have continued their basketball careers at Vanderbilt University, University of Tennessee, Lipscomb University, Trevecca Nazarene University, Kentucky University, and NC State.

Coach Reaves will begin her role at Ensworth on June 10, 2024.

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