The 2022-23 season, Johnetta Hayes' fourth at the helm for UMBC, was a historical one for the Retrievers.
Hayes led a UMBC squad picked to finish last in the preseason poll to a top four seed for the first time in six years, and helped the team finish with its second-best ever record in America East play (10-6).
The Retrievers had an 11-win improvement, one of the best in the nation, and hosted an America East Quarterfinal for the first time in program history. The Retrievers defeated NJIT, 82-71, to advance to the America East Semifinals for the first time since 2015. There, the put up a valiant fight, before top-seeded and eventual champion Vermont pulled away late for the victory.
Under her tutelage, Kiara Bell became the first Retriever to be named America East Defensive Player of the Year. Bell was also named the inaugural America East Newcomer of the Year, and earned spots on the All-Conference Second Team and All-Defensive Team.
KK White also was named to the All-Conference Second Team, while Ashia McCalla was voted onto the All-Conference Third Team and was named to the Academic All-District Team.
The team GPA also reached an impressive 3.316 for Fall 2022, and multiple players earned a 4.0 and Academic Honors, such as Dean's List.
In 2021-22, Janee'a Summers earned a spot on the All-Conference Third Team.
In her first season, Hayes helped lead UMBC to a three-win improvement in conference play and the program's highest conference finish since 2017. That season, the Retrievers also saw their scoring average increase, while seeing a decrease in opponents points per game. She helped guide Ta'yJah Oliver (first-team) and Janee'a Summers (third-team) to spots on the 2020 All-Conference Team. In 2021, she saw Alexia Nelson be named to the All-Rookie team, while graduate transfer Juliet Esadah earned a spot on the All-Conference third team.
Former UMBC Director of Athletics Tim Hall announced the hiring of Johnetta Hayes as UMBC’s new women’s basketball head coach on April 26, 2019.
“It’s a great day for Retriever Nation as we welcome Johnetta Hayes to Baltimore,” said Hall. “She has been a very successful head coach at the Division I level and we are very confident that she will be able to serve as an outstanding leader of our women’s basketball program.”
In her first year at the helm of the Retrievers, Hayes helped UMBC to its highest seed in the America East Playoffs since the 2016-17 season as they entered the postseason as the number six seed. She helped the team double its conference wins from a season ago and
Hayes was instrumental in helping junior Janee'a Summers garner America East All-Conference Third Team honors and senior Te'yJah Oliver earn All-Conference First Team honors. She also saw Oliver become the 20th player in program history to reach 1,000 points and just the fifth in a season to hit the 500-point mark, while junior Jen Gast pulled down the most rebounds since 2012 with 18.
Hayes has served as the head coach of Texas Southern University since the 2013-14 season after spending the 2012-13 season as the associate head coach. She has accumulated a 115-73 record over her six seasons at the helm of the Tigers.
In her debut season, the Houston, Texas native produced a record of 20-13, one of two 20-win seasons in her tenure. Hayes earned SWAC Coach of the Year in 2015, then guided the Lady Tigers to the regular-season titles in 2015-16 and 2016-17. The squad captured the SWAC Tournament in March of 2017, earning the first NCAA Tournament berth for the program.
Hayes led the Tigers to four postseason appearances, including a pair of WNIT appearances (2015, 2016) The NCAA Tournament (2017) and the WBI Tournament (2018). She was also a part of the staff that led Texas Southern to the WNIT in 2013 as the associate head coach after winning the SWAC regular-season title.
“I am very excited to join the UMBC family and can not wait to help return the program to the top of the America East Conference,” Hayes said of the opportunity. “Throughout the process, I have been impressed by the university and the department leadership, and the commitment to athletics and the development of the entire student-athlete. I can’t wait to get started.”
Prior to her time in Houston, Hayes spent two years on coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke’s staff at UNCW as an assistant coach. During her two seasons, the Seahawks recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons, making an appearance in the WNIT both times.
Before arriving at UNCW, Hayes was an assistant coach at North Texas (2008-10), where she helped mentor Sun Belt Conference Rookie of the Year honoree Jasmine Godbout, who became the second player in program history to earn the honor.
Hayes has also served as the head coach at Wiley (Texas) College (2006-08) and Prairie View A&M (2004-06).
Hayes was a four-year letterwinner at Rice University (2000-04). She earned First Team All-WAC honors in 2003 after leading Rice in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and field goal percentage. Hayes was ranked 16th nationally in blocked shots per game during the 2002-03 season, averaging 2.46 blocks per game and is third in program history with 142 blocked shots in her career.
Hayes graduated with a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from Rice University in 2004 and earned a Master's of Education from Prairie View A&M University in 2006.
Hayes has two daughters - Khloe Renee Perry, 7 and Zoie Elise Perry, 4
