WBB Assistant Coaches

Dane Sparrow

Assistant Coach 1st Season

Sugar Rodgers

Assistant Coach 1st Season

Kenia Cole

Assistant Coach 2nd Season

Dane Sparrow enters his first season as an assistant coach at W&M.

Sparrow joins the Tribe after seven successful seasons at Wake Forest, where he served multiple roles – assistant coach (2016-22), director of basketball operations (2014-16) and video coordinator (2013).

Highlighting Sparrow’s tenure in Winston-Salem was a trip to the 2021 NCAA Tournament, as he helped lead the ninth-seeded Demon Deacons to the program’s first tournament bid in 31 years. Wake Forest returned to the postseason again last season with an NIT appearance.

In addition to the team’s success, Sparrow was instrumental in the development of numerous players, which included four All-ACC standouts.

Among those who benefited from Sparrow’s tutelage were Ivan Raca and Jewel Spear. Wake Forest’s alltime leading scorer (1,482) and an All-ACC standout, Raca was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2021 WNBA Draft. Spear led the ACC in scoring last season (18.3) en route to earning first-team all-conference honors. One of the country’s top longrange shooters, she ranked second in the ACC in 3-pointers made (90), which ranked second on Wake Forest’s single-season list.

Wake Forest student-athletes also excelled in the classroom during his tenure, as four standouts garnered Academic All-ACC Team distinction. Prior to his time with the Demon Deacons, Sparrow began his professional career as the video coordinator at UNCG in 2011-12.

Sparrow played collegiate basketball at Lander University, in Greenwood, South Carolina. A fouryear starter, Sparrow played in 111 games for the Bearcats and finished with the fourth-most three-pointers made in school history with 197.

After his career at Lander, Sparrow transferred to UNCG to finish his degree, graduating in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

WNBA All-Star Ta’Shauna “Sugar” Rodgers enters her first season as an assistant with the William & Mary women’s basketball coaching staff.

Following an outstanding eightyear professional playing career in the WNBA, Rodgers retired in 2020 and began her coaching career with the Las Vegas Aces as an assistant in 2021 before joining the staff at her alma mater, Georgetown University, last season.

A second-round selection by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2013 WNBA Draft, Rodgers helped the franchise win a WNBA title.

She also spent five years with the New York Liberty, as her best season came in 2016 when she averaged 14.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 41.3 percent from beyond the arc.

In 2017 Rodgers continued her reign with an All-Star-worthy campaign, averaging 10.5 points, a career-high 3.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists, and was named the WNBA 6th Woman of the Year.

The most decorated player in Georgetown women’s basketball history, Rodgers was a three-time Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American and a four-time First Team All-BIG EAST honoree.

Rodgers is the Hoyas’ all-time leading scorer (2,518) making her the first women’s player to surpass the 2,000-point mark, as well as the first player in Georgetown history to go over 2,500 points. Rodgers also owns the program’s career records for steals (326) and 3-pointers (346). Additionally, she holds the program’s single season records for points (711).

Rodgers is also a celebrated author after publishing her memoir titled, They Better Call Me Sugar: My Journey from the Hood to the Hardwood.

Kenia Cole enters her second season as assistant coach after joining the program prior to the 2021-22 season.

Prior to coming to Williamsburg, Cole spent two years as an assistant at Hampton University. She is a threetime WBCA Thirty Under 30 honoree.

Cole has four years of experience on the bench, beginning with Oberlin College in the 2017-18 season when she helped the team take home their first ever North Coast Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship.

From Oberlin, Cole moved to Presbyterian College for the 2018-19 season. In her time in Clinton, S.C. Cole worked with the guards and helped Presbyterian to a conference championship semifinal appearance.

Most recently the Silver Spring, Md. native coached at her alma mater, returning to Hampton University prior to the 2019-20 season. During her first season at Hampton, the Pirates finished third in the Big South with a 14-6 record. Cole helped bring a defensive intensity to Hampton as the Pirates finished among the nation’s best in defensive points per game and turnovers forced in the 2020-21 season.

As a player Cole was a staple in the Hampton backcourt all four years on campus before graduating in May 2015. On the floor she helped lead the Pirates to four MEAC regular season titles and three trips to the NCAA Tournament.