Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Kent State on November 3, 2025 at 6 p.m.
WBB
6 p.m.
James Madison
vs Kent State
James Madison University | Official Athletics Site
Women's Basketball
Cooper Williams, Kayla
Kayla Cooper Williams
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- cooperka@jmu.edu
- Phone:
- 540-568-6513
- Physical Address:
- Atlantic Union Bank Center 1052 (645 University Blvd.) / MSC 4702
Kayla Cooper Williams enters her fourth season as an assistant coach for the Dukes in 2025-26, and sixth season as a member of the JMU coaching staff.
JMU produced a program-record 30 wins with a 30-6 overall record and a perfect 18-0 mark in Sun Belt Conference Play, including a 20-game winning streak (Dec. 29 – March 9). Head Coach Sean O’Regan was voted 2025 Sun Belt Coach of the Year, while Peyton McDaniel was named Sun Belt Player of the Year and Ro Scott was selected as Sixth Women of the Year. Additionally, McDaniel (First Team) Kseniia Kozlova (First Team) and Ashanti Barnes (Third Team) earned All-Sun Belt honors. The Dukes received national recognition by receiving votes in the AP Top 25 Poll for five consecutive weeks (Feb. 17 – March 17). JMU made its third consecutive postseason tournament appearance after being selected as a No. 1 seed in the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament.
The 2023-24 campaign saw the Dukes record a 23-12 overall record with a 13-5 mark in league play, highlighted by the program’s second consecutive trip to the Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Championship title game. Kseniia Kozlova earned both Second Team All-Sun Belt and All-Tournament Team honors for her efforts. The squad finished first in Division I in defensive rebounds per game (32.3), second in rebounds per game (47.49), fifth in rebound margin (+11.3), ninth in bench points per game (27.8) and 12th in field goal percentage defense (.361). The Dukes made its second-straight postseason tournament appearance after being selected as an at-large bid for the newly-formed Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament.
In 2022-23, the Dukes went 26-8 (13-5 Sun Belt), capturing the Sun Belt Championship Tournament title and earning an NCAA Tournament berth. The squad led the league in scoring margin (+8.8), opponent field goal percentage (.361), opponent three-point percentage (.286), and rebounding margin (+8.1).
As the Director of Player Personnel & Recruiting, Cooper Williams broke down game film and led the administrative side of recruiting from scheduling unofficial and official visits to managing a content calendar for recruiting mail-outs and graphics.
During her time as a graduate assistant she managed the recruiting social media accounts, created recruiting graphics and handled recruiting mail-outs. Cooper Williams assisted in individual workouts mainly with the post players. Additionally, she monitored study hall and stepped in anywhere needed by the coaching staff.
Prior to joining the staff, Cooper Williams played for James Madison all four years where she set numerous season and career records. While playing at JMU, Cooper Williams was named the 2015-16 CAA Rookie of the Year, a three-time CAA All-Defensive Team selection, back-to-back CAA Defensive Player of the Year (2019, 2020) and a two-time All-CAA Second Team member.
The four-year starter set the single season block record for each class, holds the program record for career blocks (314) and is third all-time in rebounds with 1,095.
Cooper Williams received her bachelor’s degree in journalism with a sport communication minor in 2020 at JMU. She earned her master’s degree in sport and recreation leadership in May 2021.
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