Bilderback Hires Jonathan Williams as Assistant Head Coach
5/2/2025 10:25:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss women's basketball head coach Missy Bilderback today announced the addition of assistant head coach Jonathan Williams to her staff. Williams, a Mississippi native, joins the Lady Eagles after a season at Charlotte under former Lady Eagle and Southern Miss assistant Tomekia Reed.
"We are thrilled that Jonathan Williams is coming home to join our staff at Southern Miss." said Bilderback. "Coach Williams is a tremendous person who fits our mission of investing in our players with a player-first mentality. He has a great level of experience, exceptional knowledge and is very well respected in our profession. He is one of the best at skill development and he has coached big-time players throughout his career. He also brings a wealth of championship and NCAA Tournament experience to our staff, which will be crucial as we pursue bringing championships back to Hattiesburg. I am excited and extremely grateful that Coach Williams has decided to join us on this journey at Southern Miss and I am confident about the incredible impact that he will have on our student-athletes and our program."
Williams has spent the last four seasons at the Division I level at Jackson State and Charlotte. The Wiggins, Miss., native possesses a wealth of championship expertise as he helped Jackson State to three Southwestern Athletic Conference regular season titles, two tournament titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances. Before getting his start in Jackson, Williams spent time at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (Perkinston, Miss.) as associate head coach and at Stone High School (Wiggins, Miss.) as an assistant coach.
"I'm truly thrilled at the chance to work with Coach Missy Bilderback and her fantastic staff at Southern Miss," said Williams. "Coach Bilderback has earned immense respect in the coaching community, and she has become known for genuinely appreciating her coaches, staff and players. Her wealth of winning and championship experience at every level is inspiring and I wholeheartedly believe in her vision to take Southern Miss to extraordinary new heights. I'm excited to be a part of this journey helping to raise the bar while supporting our student-athletes both on and off the court. Our ultimate goal is to empower these student-athletes not only to win championships but also to graduate and use what they learn here to launch them into successful careers ahead. As a proud former student at Southern Miss, my love and admiration for this incredible university and community has only grown stronger over time. I can't wait to contribute to its legacy!"
A product of Stone High School and native Mississippian, Williams returns home to the Magnolia State after one season in Charlotte, N.C., where he served as an assistant coach on the 49ers staff. In one season in the Queen City, Williams helped Charlotte establish its foundations in the first season under Tomekia Reed. The 49ers posted an 11-21 record in Reed's first season but rallied in the American Athletic Conference Tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals – including an upset of five-seed Tulsa – before falling to Temple.
Williams came with Reed to Charlotte after three record-shattering seasons at Jackson State. In three seasons with the Tigers, Williams helped the program to a 70-24 (.744) overall record and 53-1 (.981) ledger in SWAC play. Jackson State collected five trophies with three SWAC regular season championships and two tournament titles with three postseason appearances, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers earned a bid to the 2022 and 2024 NCAA Tournaments as the 14-seed in both events. The 2022 Jackson State team nearly pulled off the upset over three-seed LSU in Baton Rouge. Five Tigers earned All-SWAC selections while Jackson State claimed three SWAC Defensive Player of the Year Awards and the 2022 SWAC Player of the Year Awards.
Ameysha Williams-Holliday became the first HBCU player taken in the WNBA Draft since 2002 as she was selected by Indiana in the Third Round of the 2022 draft. Angel Jackson became the second player in Jackson State history to have her name called in the 2024 WNBA Draft after being taken 36th overall in the third round by the Las Vegas Aces.
Before his time in the state capital, Williams spent three seasons at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (Perkinston, Miss.). As the MGCCC's associate head coach, he helped engineer the Bulldogs' turnaround in his first season as the squad went from a six-win 2017-18 campaign to a 16-10 overall ledger in 2018-19.
While in Perk, Williams helped Gulf Coast to back-to-back winning seasons and 38 overall victories as a driving force for the Bulldogs. The 2018-19 squad advanced to the NJCAA Region 23 Championship Game before falling to Missy Bilderback's Jones Bobcats, but Gulf Coast's 17 wins were the most since 2014.
A total of 15 Bulldogs moved to the next level with eight signing with Division I programs. His efforts helped MGCCC head coach Hope Adams earn MACCC Coach of the Year honors in 2019. Daphane White earned NJCAA All-American honors as well as All-MACJC and All-NJCAA Region 23 laurels in 2020 before signing with Houston.
Prior to his collegiate coaching debut with Mississippi Gulf Coast, Williams worked as an assistant at his hometown Stone High School in Wiggins, Miss. Williams, a former Stone Tomcat himself, returned to his high school alma mater in 2015 and immediately helped the squad reach new heights.
In his three seasons in Wiggins, the Tomcats combined to win 45 games and made marked progress each year. His first season saw the team finish 6-23 but by year two the team had improved to 15-15 overall. The 2017-18 squad put it all together and exploded for a 24-6 record and perfect 6-0 showing in district play. The Tomcats captured the regular season title and tournament title in Class 5A's District 8 and earned a bye in the Class 5A State Championship tournament. Stone defeated Pearl River Central to advance to the quarterfinals at the Big House in Jackson, Miss., before falling to Callaway.
Prior to his coaching career, Williams worked across the business management industry at AT&T, Antonelli College, at the Island View Casino Resort and at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. Williams earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Faulkner University in 2011 and his master's in business administration from William Carey University in 2013.
A standout high school athlete, Williams helped Stone to 65-plus wins in four seasons with the varsity team and was recognized as a top 50 player in his senior year. He signed to play at Pearl River Community College (Poplarville, Miss.) out of high school where he helped the Wildcats to back-to-back MACJC state titles and ranked finishes in both of his seasons in Poplarville.
In the prep circuit, Williams founded and owns Elite Sklz Basketball Training, one of South Mississippi's premier basketball development programs. Through Elite Sklz, Williams helps to train professional, collegiate, high school and amateur basketball talent for success at the next level.
Williams is the son of the late Robert and Annie Williams of Wiggins, Miss., and he has one son, Cortez Dennis, who plays baseball at New Orleans. Cortez also previously played at Meridian Community College (Meridian, Miss.) and Pearl River Community College.
Read more about Coach Williams HERE.
"We are thrilled that Jonathan Williams is coming home to join our staff at Southern Miss." said Bilderback. "Coach Williams is a tremendous person who fits our mission of investing in our players with a player-first mentality. He has a great level of experience, exceptional knowledge and is very well respected in our profession. He is one of the best at skill development and he has coached big-time players throughout his career. He also brings a wealth of championship and NCAA Tournament experience to our staff, which will be crucial as we pursue bringing championships back to Hattiesburg. I am excited and extremely grateful that Coach Williams has decided to join us on this journey at Southern Miss and I am confident about the incredible impact that he will have on our student-athletes and our program."
Williams has spent the last four seasons at the Division I level at Jackson State and Charlotte. The Wiggins, Miss., native possesses a wealth of championship expertise as he helped Jackson State to three Southwestern Athletic Conference regular season titles, two tournament titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances. Before getting his start in Jackson, Williams spent time at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (Perkinston, Miss.) as associate head coach and at Stone High School (Wiggins, Miss.) as an assistant coach.
"I'm truly thrilled at the chance to work with Coach Missy Bilderback and her fantastic staff at Southern Miss," said Williams. "Coach Bilderback has earned immense respect in the coaching community, and she has become known for genuinely appreciating her coaches, staff and players. Her wealth of winning and championship experience at every level is inspiring and I wholeheartedly believe in her vision to take Southern Miss to extraordinary new heights. I'm excited to be a part of this journey helping to raise the bar while supporting our student-athletes both on and off the court. Our ultimate goal is to empower these student-athletes not only to win championships but also to graduate and use what they learn here to launch them into successful careers ahead. As a proud former student at Southern Miss, my love and admiration for this incredible university and community has only grown stronger over time. I can't wait to contribute to its legacy!"
A product of Stone High School and native Mississippian, Williams returns home to the Magnolia State after one season in Charlotte, N.C., where he served as an assistant coach on the 49ers staff. In one season in the Queen City, Williams helped Charlotte establish its foundations in the first season under Tomekia Reed. The 49ers posted an 11-21 record in Reed's first season but rallied in the American Athletic Conference Tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals – including an upset of five-seed Tulsa – before falling to Temple.
Williams came with Reed to Charlotte after three record-shattering seasons at Jackson State. In three seasons with the Tigers, Williams helped the program to a 70-24 (.744) overall record and 53-1 (.981) ledger in SWAC play. Jackson State collected five trophies with three SWAC regular season championships and two tournament titles with three postseason appearances, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers earned a bid to the 2022 and 2024 NCAA Tournaments as the 14-seed in both events. The 2022 Jackson State team nearly pulled off the upset over three-seed LSU in Baton Rouge. Five Tigers earned All-SWAC selections while Jackson State claimed three SWAC Defensive Player of the Year Awards and the 2022 SWAC Player of the Year Awards.
Ameysha Williams-Holliday became the first HBCU player taken in the WNBA Draft since 2002 as she was selected by Indiana in the Third Round of the 2022 draft. Angel Jackson became the second player in Jackson State history to have her name called in the 2024 WNBA Draft after being taken 36th overall in the third round by the Las Vegas Aces.
Before his time in the state capital, Williams spent three seasons at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (Perkinston, Miss.). As the MGCCC's associate head coach, he helped engineer the Bulldogs' turnaround in his first season as the squad went from a six-win 2017-18 campaign to a 16-10 overall ledger in 2018-19.
While in Perk, Williams helped Gulf Coast to back-to-back winning seasons and 38 overall victories as a driving force for the Bulldogs. The 2018-19 squad advanced to the NJCAA Region 23 Championship Game before falling to Missy Bilderback's Jones Bobcats, but Gulf Coast's 17 wins were the most since 2014.
A total of 15 Bulldogs moved to the next level with eight signing with Division I programs. His efforts helped MGCCC head coach Hope Adams earn MACCC Coach of the Year honors in 2019. Daphane White earned NJCAA All-American honors as well as All-MACJC and All-NJCAA Region 23 laurels in 2020 before signing with Houston.
Prior to his collegiate coaching debut with Mississippi Gulf Coast, Williams worked as an assistant at his hometown Stone High School in Wiggins, Miss. Williams, a former Stone Tomcat himself, returned to his high school alma mater in 2015 and immediately helped the squad reach new heights.
In his three seasons in Wiggins, the Tomcats combined to win 45 games and made marked progress each year. His first season saw the team finish 6-23 but by year two the team had improved to 15-15 overall. The 2017-18 squad put it all together and exploded for a 24-6 record and perfect 6-0 showing in district play. The Tomcats captured the regular season title and tournament title in Class 5A's District 8 and earned a bye in the Class 5A State Championship tournament. Stone defeated Pearl River Central to advance to the quarterfinals at the Big House in Jackson, Miss., before falling to Callaway.
Prior to his coaching career, Williams worked across the business management industry at AT&T, Antonelli College, at the Island View Casino Resort and at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. Williams earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Faulkner University in 2011 and his master's in business administration from William Carey University in 2013.
A standout high school athlete, Williams helped Stone to 65-plus wins in four seasons with the varsity team and was recognized as a top 50 player in his senior year. He signed to play at Pearl River Community College (Poplarville, Miss.) out of high school where he helped the Wildcats to back-to-back MACJC state titles and ranked finishes in both of his seasons in Poplarville.
In the prep circuit, Williams founded and owns Elite Sklz Basketball Training, one of South Mississippi's premier basketball development programs. Through Elite Sklz, Williams helps to train professional, collegiate, high school and amateur basketball talent for success at the next level.
Williams is the son of the late Robert and Annie Williams of Wiggins, Miss., and he has one son, Cortez Dennis, who plays baseball at New Orleans. Cortez also previously played at Meridian Community College (Meridian, Miss.) and Pearl River Community College.
Read more about Coach Williams HERE.
– #ELEVATE | #SMTTT –
Missy Bilderback Presser - March 27, 2025
Thursday, March 27
Jeremy McClain Presser - March 27, 2025
Thursday, March 27
Missy Bilderback Introductory Press Conference
Thursday, March 27
Thank You Coach Joye Lee-McNelis
Saturday, March 01