Coaching Staff
Jessica Barber | Associate Head Coach
Jessica Barber has been promoted to associate head coach, ULM women’s basketball head coach Brooks Donald Williams announced Monday.
Barber enters her fourth season with the Warhawks in 2022-23 and her first as Associate Head Coach. She served as assistant head coach in 2021-22 and as recruiting coordinator and assistant coach during her first two seasons.
Barber oversees guard development on the court. However, her impact has also been felt off the floor. Barber has helped flip a culture with team comradery, relationship building and elevation of standards in every area. In just two seasons she pulled in two of the highest touted recruiting classes in the region as well as guided last season’s squad to the best semester GPA in the record books as the academic liaison for women’s basketball.
Under Coach Barber’s watch, junior guard Gara Beth Self was named the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year in 2019-20. Self was the first specialty award winner for ULM women’s basketball since joining the conference in 2006-07 and the first Freshman of the Year or Newcomer of the Year honor for ULM since Jab Johnson was the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year in 1988.
Self averaged 12.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game in Sun Belt conference action, getting the start in all 18 games. She scored double figures in 15 games, 12 of those coming in Sun Belt play. Self scored a season-high 28 points at then league leading Coastal Carolina on Feb. 27. Self, a New Albany, Mississippi native, was Williams and Barber’s first signee at ULM.
Barber’s impact on the bayou was an immediate one on the recruiting trail, signing five high school state champions, four of which are from Louisiana. Jada Anderson and Qua Chambers, both from Benton High School, were each honored as LHSBCA Players of the Year. Chambers also was the top-ranked guard in Louisiana by MaxPreps and No. 128 nationally in the 2020 class.
The 2021 class received regional attention for pulling in the area’s most talented scorers to Monroe. A member of the Clarion Ledger 2020 Dandy Dozen and Starkville Daily News Player of the Year, Amaya Ford has been known to produce big time numbers. The Starkville, Mississippi, native and 2018 6A State Champion was one of the most highly touted recruits in the state of Mississippi after putting up 46-point and 55-point nights in her senior season.
Ford averaged 5.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per game as a freshman. She scored in double figures seven times and ended the year with 15 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in her final outing as a freshman.
Barber helped haul four of the top eight players in Louisiana in the 2021 class featuring two of the best guards in south Louisiana. Aasia Sam, a sharpshooter from LaGrange High School and McDonald’s All-American nominee, was an early commitment for the Warhawks. Sam, who scored over 1,500 points and won two 4A State Championships in Lake Charles, also was named Miss LaGrange High School and graduated Summa Cum Laude. As a Warhawk, Sam scored in double figures four times as a freshman and averaged 4.7 points.
Bre Sutton, a flashy and dynamic point guard who hails from New Orleans’ Warren Easton High School, is one that Barber is all too familiar with. Sutton was someone Barber watched grow up in the city while she was coaching at Edna Karr. As a true freshman, Sutton scored in double figures six times, led the team in scoring four times and led the team in assists 11 times.
Katlyn Manuel was a four-time All-Parish, All-District and All-State honoree who led her team to a 3A state championship game in 2021. Manuel averaged 17 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks in her senior campaign. Manuel also was a Class 3A state champion in the 4x100 meter relay. Manuel recorded double figures four times as a freshman while averaging 4.7 points and 4.8 rebounds a game. Manuel led the Warhawks in rebounding 11 times in 2021-22.
The big four, Ford, Sam, Sutton and Manuel, were all in the top seven in scoring for the Warhawks as true freshmen while Manuel finished as the second leading rebounder.
The 2022 recruiting class includes South Louisiana standout Myca Trail. Trail was selected as the girls Outstanding Player in Class 3A after averaging 18.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, six steals and three assists per game. She led St. Louis Catholic to a 32-2 record and second consecutive Division II championship. The 5-foot-10 Trail scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the championship game.
Barber took over as the liaison for the women’s basketball staff with athletic academics in the spring of 2020 during one of the most trying times, as the semester was moved to online classes in mid-March. Barber worked tirelessly as an encourager to help student-athletes adjust to their classes being completed from their homes.
Jayln Johnson | Assistant Coach
ULM women's basketball head coach Brooks Donald Williams announced May 25, 2021, the hiring of former collegiate and professional standout point guard and Louisiana native Jayln Johnson as assistant coach.
"I am just as excited as the day Jay committed to play for me," Williams said. "She is a special young professional. I have watched her coach, direct, lead and serve for a long time as a point guard and a coach. I am thrilled for our players. She loves the game. She lives it and has her entire life. She loves our state. Her passion and positive energy are infectious, and she thrives on her ability to connect with others. She has won in everything she has ever been a part of, and we don't expect anything less here in Monroe. Our program got a big, big win today."
Johnson and Williams, both hailing from the basketball tradition rich small town of Jennings, Louisiana, will reconnect after collecting 78 wins, including two 20-win seasons, and four-straight postseason appearances as player and coach at McNeese State.
"I think it is a great opportunity to give back," Johnson said. "I get a chance to coach and recruit some of the best young ladies in my home state and impact lives. I'm super excited to work with Coach Brooks. Playing for her, I know she is one of the best in the business. I learned so much from her as a player, and now I'm elated to take in the knowledge as a coach. We have a really good relationship. I have known her for a long time and love her like a second mom. I'm blessed to have her and this opportunity."
Johnson played three seasons in Spain before coming home to Louisiana to begin her coaching career. She spent the 2020-21 season as the head coach at Bethel Christian prior to the school's closure. Johnson quickly shifted right down the road to Jennings High School and finished the season as their assistant coach.
Since 2015, Johnson has trained numerous boys and girls in the SWLA region. Johnson hosted and co-founded Train Like Champions, a basketball camp for youth in her home area.
Johnson recently served as a coach for the Lake City Pride. She also has served as a coach for the Acadiana Stars, whom she competed for during her high school years.
Johnson received her Bachelor of Science in General Business Administration in the College of Business from McNeese State University in May of 2016.
While at McNeese, the All-Southland and All-Louisiana point guard made her mark all over the record books while helping Williams finish off the best run in Cowgirl history. Johnson is a member of the 1,000 Point Club, ranking as the sixth-best scorer in McNeese history with 1,455 points. She also is first in free throws made in a single game and season. McNeese State's career assist leader (single game, season and career) also sits at the top in games played.
Johnson finished her senior season ranked in the Top-50 in the NCAA in total assists, assists per game and free throws made per game, as well as a top 10 finish in free throw percentage.
A 2012 graduate from Jennings High School, Johnson led the Lady Bulldogs to three 20-win seasons, including three district championships and the 2011 4A State Championship. Johnson and Williams both played for longtime Jennings High Lady Bulldog coaches Shawn McNeilly and Julie Mayeux.
"It is important to be able to help continue what so many before me have done when it comes to impacting the scope of women's basketball in Louisiana," Johnson said. "We have so many young ladies who have a chance to be really good with the proper guidance. The state is at an all-time high when it comes to talent and it will be exciting to recruit, develop and watch these young ladies grow over time."
Johnson is the daughter of Bonnie White Zeno and the late Jaxter Johnson.
Jewel Triggs | Director of Basketball Operations
Jewel Triggs has been hired as the Director of Basketball Operations after having served as a Graduate Assistant and Creative Content Coordinator for the previous two seasons with the ULM women’s basketball program, head coach Brooks Donald Williams announced.
Triggs will spearhead the operations side of the program with responsibilities including creative wardrobe design and equipment liaison, all team and recruiting travel and supervision and organization of the Warhawk student manager and practice squad. Triggs will continue to manage numerous game day activities and coordinate any necessary preparations for meals, practice and shoot around times and any additional operational tasks.
“I have never seen a staff member grow and thrive as much as Jewel has these past two years,” Williams said. “Jewel taught herself how to do many things during her time with us and is one of the most coachable employees I’ve had the honor to work with. She continues to proactively learn and I am so glad we have the opportunity to continue to grow together.”
Triggs will continue to oversee graphic design, creative content and social media and photography editing responsibilities for the team and for recruiting. She is in charge of the production of “The Nest News,” the women’s basketball monthly newsletter. Triggs also assists with player development, video breakdown, managerial supervision and the recruiting preparation for unofficial and official visits.
“I want to thank Coach Williams for this great opportunity,” Triggs said. “Having known her for many years now, I know what type of team she's capable of putting on the floor. I witness her passion and love for basketball and our athletes daily, and I am excited to continue working with them on and off the court. I am thrilled to see where this program is headed. Big things are happening on the bayou.”
A native of Thibodaux, Louisiana, Triggs spent four years at George Mason University, where she completed her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology in May 2019. She completed her master’s degree in exercise science at ULM in December 2020.
Off the court, she held internships at Fast Track Sports Medicine and Performance Center during the course of her studies, where she assisted patients with functional mobility exercises and customized plans for specific needs. Triggs was also a sports performance trainer at Redline Athletics, where she assisted in individual basketball workouts alongside Chineze Nwagbo, Syracuse women’s basketball alum, who played professionally for 11 years and appeared in the World Championship Games in 2006.
Triggs was very active on campus as well, serving on the George Mason President-Student Advisory group, where she was a representative for all of the university’s athletes. She served as the team representative for the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC). Triggs also received the opportunity to be a participant at the Atlantic 10 Conference Inaugural Student-Athlete Leadership Summit in 2016.
Triggs attended Thibodaux High School, where she was named to the All-District First Team, All-Region Team and earned All-State Honors and was nominated for the 2015 McDonald’s All-American Team and Wendy’s High School Heisman award.
“I have known Jewel since I recruited her in high school and she is top-notch,” Williams said. “She is a caring, smart, hard-working, talented young professional and we are so thrilled to have her with us in a new role. She makes us all better daily.”
Grace Daniels | Graduate Assistant