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Longtime Troy University Assistant Basketball Coach Courtney Simmons was hired as Grambling State University’s head women’s basketball coach on Thursday.

Simmons, a Baton, Rouge, La., native has been an assistant coach at Troy, under Chanda Rigby, for the past 10 seasons. She’s also served as Troy’s recruiting coordinator. Simmons was a part of a Troy coaching staff that won five Sun Belt Championships and earned six postseason berths, including three NCAA Tournaments. Simmons primarily worked with Troy’s guards with a number of her players earning All-Conference honors during her tenure.

Simmons played college basketball at the University of Louisville and Tulane University. Following her playing career, Simmons started her coaching career as an assistant coach at Louisiana and eventually became recruiting coordinator there in 2009. She then went on to serve as an assistant at junior college (JUCO) power Trinity Valley Community College in Texas before becoming an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech in 2012. She began at Troy in 2013.

Simmons will take over a Grambling team that went 10-20 this past season and last made it to the NCAA Tournament in 2018. Grambling has earned appearances in the NCAA Tournament a total of six times since 1994.

“This is an exciting moment for Grambling State University women’s basketball as we welcome Courtney Simmons and her family to Exit 81,” Grambling State Vice President and Athletic Director Dr. Trayvean Scott said. “Coach Simmons is a mentor to young women, and a consistent winner with an impressive body of work. Her previous experience gives her an understanding of our winning tradition and I’m confident that she is the coach to return our program to prominence within the SWAC and nationally.”