Nicole Woods- Head Coach
Nicole Woods, an experienced collegiate coach and tireless recruiter, was named the 12th head coach in UNCW women’s basketball history by Director of Athletics Michael Oblinger on April 13, 2023.
Woods takes over the Seahawk program after 10 years on the staff at Charlotte, where she most recently served as associate head coach under 49ers Head Coach Cara Consuegra.
She also worked as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Stetson (2011-13) after beginning her coaching career as a graduate assistant at SIU Carbondale (2009-11).
Woods, a native of Gastonia, N.C., and recruiting coordinator for the 49ers over the last six seasons, helped Charlotte pile up four WNIT berths (2014, 2016, 2019, 2021) and one NCAA Tournament appearance. The 49ers captured the 2022 Conference USA Championship.
Charlotte racked up five winning seasons and four 20-win campaigns during her time in the Queen City. With Woods on the staff, the 49ers recorded a C-USA winning percentage of .500 or better in nine straight seasons from 2013-22, capped by a 15-3 conference mark in the 2022 championship season. 
“I want to thank Chancellor Volety, Mike Oblinger and Tiffany Tucker for believing in me,” said Woods. “The three of us will do remarkable things together. It will be a pleasure to work for such an amazing administration and I am ready to lead this program to progressing daily, while positively impacting the lives of these young ladies.”
“In recruiting I tell recruits they should go where they’re celebrated not where they’re tolerated. I felt celebrated and wanted from the first conversation I had with Mike and Tiffany. I believe in timing and alignment. This is the perfect time and the mission and values of UNCW align with my core values. The time is now!
“I don’t take for granted the opportunity at hand. Helping people is my calling in life. I look forward to cultivating relationships and pouring into those around me. Words cannot express my gratitude and I am ready to hit the ground running!”
Woods primarily worked with the backcourt at Charlotte, helping numerous players run the team’s high-octane offense while contributing on the defensive end. She mentored several All-Conference performers, including Syracuse transfer Jade Phillips, a 2020 C-USA First-Team and All-Defensive selection, who averaged 14.1 ppg and 8.7 rpg over two seasons.
In addition to Phillips, Woods headed up the recruiting efforts for three-time All-Conference selections Jada McMillan and Octavia Jett-Wilson. McMillan started 117 games and collected 120 steals. Jett-Wilson was the 2022 C-USA Player of the Year and is Charlotte’s all-time leader in games played (143), games started (123) and minutes played (4,157). She ranks second in free throws made (490) and third on the school’s all-time scoring list (1,812).
Woods’ recruiting acumen has extended from the state of North Carolina to the national level. The 49ers featured their first all-North Carolina freshman class in 2018-19 and Charlotte has added several Power Five transfers in recent years.
At Stetson, Woods played a key role when the Hatters and Head Coach Lynn Bria cranked out a school record 23 victories and the program’s first WNIT berth in 2012. Woods and the Hatters went on to capture the 2013 Atlantic Sun Championship, earning an NCAA First-Round matchup vs. No. 3-seeded UCLA.
Woods arrived at Stetson following two years as a graduate assistant coach at SIU Carbondale, where she worked under Missy Tiber, who coached Woods during her playing days at Belmont Abbey. Woods was responsible for team travel, video exchange, game day operations and oversaw the team managers. She also assisted with film breakdown, scouting, community relations, graduating in 2011 with a Master’s Degree in Public Administration.
Woods recruited Stetson’s all-time leading scorer, Brianti Saunders, who poured in 1,975 points for the Hatters. Saunders joined Victoria McGowan, Jama Sharp and Sasha Sims as former players for Woods who made the ASUN Conference’s All Decade Team.
Saunders ranks fourth all-time in ASUN history for career points and earned three All-Conference and nine Player of Week selections. McGowan was named 2012 ASUN Player of the Year and earned Tournament MVP honors in 2011 after helping Stetson capture the ASUN title. Sharp racked up two First Team All-ASUN selections during her career in DeLand. Sims earned postseason honors in each of her years in Deland, being named to the All-Conference Team from 2012-14 and to the All-Freshman Team in 2011.
Woods played four seasons at Belmont Abbey (2002-06), where she blossomed into an NCAA Division II Bulletin Second-Team All-American, averaging 24.1 ppg, less than .01 ppg behind the national leader. Woods was also selected Carolina-Virginia Athletic Conference (now Conference Carolinas) Player of the Year after averaging 7.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists during her senior campaign.
Woods earned degrees in Accounting and Business Management at Belmont-Abbey and graduated in 2006 as the school’s fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,641 points. Her 676 markers in 2005-06 is a school record.
Woods, who was inducted into the Gaston Sports Hall of Fame in 2022, played professionally in England for the Nottingham Wildcats in 2007-08, leading the team in assists and ranking second in scoring.
Cherie Lea- Associate Head Coach
Cherie Lea, a UNCW Athletics Hall of Famer who spearheaded a resurgence in UNCW women's basketball in the early 2000s, returns to her alma mater as Associate Head Coach under new Head Coach Nicole Woods.
Lea becomes Woods' top lieutenant after serving in the same capacity at Duquesne last season. The 2004 UNCW graduate has spent eight seasons on the Duquesne staff under Head Coach Dan Burt, a former Seahawk assistant from 2001-04.
Lea began her coaching career as Director of Basketball Operations for the Dukes in 2013 before she was named an assistant coach in 2016. With Lea in Pittsburgh, the Dukes compiled a 137-102 record, including 69 Atlantic-10 Conference wins.
"Cherie Lea is a person that you want your daughter to aspire to be like," said Woods, who was named to her post in April 2023. "She is a person driven by her personal core values. She was the CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year, so she embodies what it means to be a student-athlete.
"Culture is what drives our program and I felt there was nobody better that personified those pillars of our program than Cherie. I am super excited to have her come back home to Seahawk Nation!"
Duquesne secured three WNIT berths (2014, 2017, 2018) with Lea on the staff and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the Women's Basketball National Invitational Tournament in 2018. The 2019-20 Dukes were also a projected WNIT squad with a 20-11 showing before the cancelation of the postseason tournament.
Between stints at Duquesne, Lea was the top assistant at Wingate under former UNCW Head Coach Ann Hancock. In her two years with the Bulldogs, Lea helped the team compile a 43-19 (.693) record and a 34-10 (.772) mark in the South Atlantic Conference. Wingate was crowned SAC tournament champions and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2015-16.
Before turning to coaching, Lea more than held her own on the hardwood.
A transfer from North Carolina, Lea joined the Seahawks for the 2002-03 women's basketball season and made an immediate impact with the team. The point guard powered the Seahawks to a 37-19 record over two seasons, earning First-Team All-CAA and Team MVP recognition both years.
The Blanch, N.C., product scored 884 points (14.7 ppg), grabbed 301 rebounds (5.4 rpg) and dished out 165 assists (2.9 apg) in 56 appearances for the Seahawks. She started 55 of those contests and is the only two-time First-Team All-CAA pick in Seahawk women's hoops history. She was honored as a Colonial Athletic Association legend in 2005.
"It's great to be home and it's a surreal moment. UNCW has meant so much to me. When the opportunity was presented to me by Coach Woods, I couldn't turn it down," said Lea, who donned the No. 44 jersey during her Seahawk playing career. "It's important to me to give back to this University and the women's basketball program therefore I am going to be the best coach I can be for Coach Woods, our staff, and players."
Lea also excelled in the classroom. She was a two-time selection to the CAA's All-Academic Team and was tabbed as the CAA's Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2003-04. Following her senior year, Lea was named the recipient of the prestigious Dean Ehlers Award from the CAA.
Following graduation, Lea enjoyed an outstanding professional career overseas. She played professionally in Luxembourg and Holland, where she was the two-time MVP of the Dutch League and a participant in four All-Star Games. Lea won a pair of Dutch titles during her time in The Netherlands.
Lea earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics from UNCW in 2004.
Lea became the sixth women's basketball member of the UNCW Hall of Fame when she was inducted last February.
Keyana Brown- Assistant Coach
UNCW women's basketball Head Coach Nicole Woods continues to build her coaching staff with the addition of Keyana Brown as an assistant coach for the 2023-24 season.
Brown returns to the Port City where she spent the 2021-22 season as the Seahawks' Director of Basketball Operations. She spent last year as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Coppin State under Eagles Head Coach Jermaine Woods.
"I recruited Keyana over a decade ago. She was always a top-tier person and athlete," said Woods. "Her attention to detail and preparedness landed her this job. I was looking for someone to replace me and she is just that. She is no stranger to Seahawk Nation. I can't wait to work with her daily!"
A 2018 Virginia State graduate, Brown helped the Eagles earn the fifth seed in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament and saw both Mossi Staples and Jewel Watkinds earn Second Team All-MEAC accolades.
While at CSU, she was named one of 46 participants for the 2023 NCAA Basketball Coaches Academy held at the NCAA National Office in Indianapolis, Ind., in mid-May.
During her time with the Seahawks, Brown assisted with many aspects of the program, including team travel, budget, equipment needs, team meals and community outreach.
Prior to UNCW, Brown attended Valdosta State as a graduate assistant for the women's basketball program. Her duties included coach, coordinating team travel, academics and social media.
"I am super excited to rejoin Seahawk Nation as an Assistant Coach," said Brown. "Thank you to Coach Woods for the opportunity. She has been such a great role model for me since I was a student-athlete myself. I'm pumped to embark on this new journey with her and our program."
Brown spent one year as a media relations assistant at the University of Maryland and served as a media relations intern at the MEAC during the 2018-19 season.
A three-year letter winner at Old Dominion, Brown was a two-time team captain who led the Lady Monarchs to a pair of winning seasons. The Williamsburg, Va., native ranked third on the team in scoring with a 7.3 average during the 2015-16 season en route to receiving "Sixth Woman of the Year" recognition.
Brown transferred to Virginia State for her senior season and helped the Trojans set a school record with a 15-0 start. She averaged 9.4 points per game, shot 41.9 percent from the field and paced the team with 18 blocked shots.
Hailey Yohn- Assistant Coach
Hailey Yohn, a former Miami (OH) and High Point assistant coach, has joined the UNCW women's basketball program in the same capacity ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Yohn arrives in the Port City after completing her fourth season on the RedHawks bench. Prior to Miami, Yohn spent four years at HPU where she was the Panthers' Director of Operations in 2015-16 before serving as an assistant coach from 2016-19.
"I've known Hailey for over a decade. I watched her work her way from a Director of Operations to an innovative and player-first coach," said UNCW Head Coach Nicole Woods. "She's a Durham, N.C. native and has ties to Wilmington. She is highly respected in our profession by players and her peers. I look forward to having her on my team!"
Yohn followed former Panthers bench boss DeUnna Hendrix from High Point to Miami in 2019 and helped six RedHawks earn All-MAC accolades. In the classroom, 20 Miami players appeared on the Academic All-MAC squad during her four-year stint in Oxford, Ohio.
Before Miami, Yohn began her coaching career under Hendrix at HPU where she helped the Panthers to an impressive 54-38 overall record and a 38-16 mark in conference play.
During Yohn's time in the Triad, HPU finished in the top four in the Big South every season, including a second-place showing and a WNIT appearance in 2018-19. The Panthers also concluded each season ranked within the top three in free-throw percentage, three-point percentage and scoring offense in the conference.
Yohn, who worked primarily with HPU guards, mentored 2017 Big South Player of the Year Emma Bockrath as well as two 1,000-point scorers. During her tenure, the Panthers earned six all-conference selections.
"I'm thrilled to join the Seahawk family and be back in my home state of North Carolina," said Yohn, a native of Durham, N.C. "I believe in Coach Woods' progressive vision for this program and I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it. This is an exciting time for Seahawk basketball and I look forward to building a successful team with our staff and student-athletes."
Yohn earned a bachelor's degree in Physical Education and Sports Studies from Coker College in 2015.
She was a three-year captain for the Cobras and graduated as Coker's all-time leader in three-pointers made (211). During her playing career, Yohn was named to the South Athletic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll twice and was voted as the team's MVP in 2013.
Yohn served as a camp coach at Duke and North Carolina during her collegiate career as well as a student intern for the Coker College men's basketball team. The former guard was selected to the So You Want to be a Coach program, which attended the 2015 Final Four in Tampa, Fla., to network with various Division I, II and III women's basketball coaches.
In 2019, Yohn was chosen as one of the WBCA's 30 Under 30 honorees.
Ashley Burner- Director of Basketball Operations
UNCW women’s basketball Head Coach Nicole Woods announced the addition of South Carolina alum Ashley Bruner as the Seahawks’ Director of Operations for the 2023-24 season.
Bruner spent last season as an assistant coach at Tuskegee University, a Division II HBCU in Alabama. She began her post-playing career for the Golden Tigers following a seven-year overseas professional player career.
“Ashley was someone I was drawn to during the interview process,” said Woods. “She comes from good stock and has a heart to help and serve others. She will have an on-court role and assistant with the post-player development. We are super excited to have her on our team!”
Bruner’s primary duties as Director of Operations will include overseeing all operational logistics while executing a comprehensive academic and athletic plan to ensure student-athlete and program success.
A native of Norma, Okla., Bruner played for the Gamecocks under Hall of Fame coach Dawn Staley from 2009-13. She made 128 appearances in her four-year career. She started all 33 games as a senior when she averaged 10.3 points and 8.1 rebounds, earning an All-Southeastern Conference Second-Team nod for her efforts.
While at South Carolina, Bruner helped the Gamecocks reach two NCAA Tournaments (2012 and 2013) and a WNIT berth (2011). South Carolina also raced to the Sweet Sixteen in 2012.
“I am ecstatic to join Seahawk Nation as the Director of Women’s Basketball Operations,” said Bruner. “I am truly grateful to Coach Woods for the opportunity to join this staff. She is building something special, and I am thankful to be on this journey with her and the team.”
Bruner’s professional career began in 2013 and has included stints in Ecuador, France, Italy, Portugal, Puerto Rico and Spain. Some of her highlights include Portuguese League Champion and Player of the Year, and EuroCup Player of the Year and Forward of the Year amongst other accolades.
She spent her final professional year in France, playing for the Landerneau Bretagne Basket. Prior to her stint in France, she spent two years at the Gray Collegiate Academy in Columbia, S.C., one as the assistant and last season as the head coach.
