Zaakira Muhammad

Former Mountaineer NCAA All-American Zaakira Muhammad is in her third season as an assistant coach at West Virginia University. A four-year letterwinner at WVU from 2015-18, she returned to Morgantown in June 2020 after serving as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan in 2019. The Pennsauken, New Jersey, native assists the Mountaineers on the coaching of all four events and oversees the team’s community service outreach program. Under Muhammad’s guidance, West Virginia finished with a 13-5 overall mark in 2022. The record-breaking campaign consisted of a stretch of 11 straight wins, six team scores that rank inside the program’s top 50 all-time and a third-place finish at the 2022 Big 12 Championship, the squad’s highest finish at the conference meet since 2017. Muhammad and the Mountaineers were recognized at the conference and regional levels for their accomplishments in 2022. The honors began with Kendra Combs and Abbie Pierson garnering Big 12 Gymnast of the Week accolades, before Combs was named to the All-Big 12 Team and Rachel Hornung earned a spot on the All-Big 12 Championship Team. At season’s end, Muhammad and associate head coach Travis Doak were named the Region 6 Co-Assistant Coaches of the Year by the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA). When she joined WVU’s coaching staff, Muhammad assumed choreography responsibilities for WVU’s floor exercise lineup. In 2022, she coached the floor squad to its second consecutive season ranked inside the top 25 of the Road to Nationals rankings every week of the regular season. The Mountaineers debuted at No. 4 on Jan. 17, marking the team’s highest ranking since at least 1998. The last time the Mountaineers appeared inside the Road to Nationals top 10 was in 2001, when WVU ranked No. 8 nationally on floor. The squad recorded a 49.0 or higher at every meet during the season, including a season-best 49.525. In her first season on the staff in 2021, Muhammad helped the Mountaineers to their 41st NCAA Regional Championships appearance in program history, as West Virginia hosted the regional championship at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. WVU ended the year ranked No. 28 in the Road to Nationals Rankings with a National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 391.419. The Mountaineers’ floor exercise lineup was ranked inside the top 25 every week, as the squad posted a 49.0 or higher in all but two meets. Eleven of the 14 Mountaineers who saw competitive time reached the podium. WVU boasted 64 podium finishes on the year, while Kendra Combs led the team with 11 podium finishes and seven event wins. Academically, nine Mountaineers earned a spot on the 2021 Academic All-Big 12 Gymnastics Teams, including six first-team members. Kianna Yancey was the lone WVU gymnast to earn the recognition with a 4.0 grade-point average. While at Eastern Michigan, Muhammad assisted in the team’s choreography for balance beam and floor exercise, as well as the Eagles’ recruiting efforts. She also coordinated all team activities. EMU claimed three team victories in a season cut short due to COVID-19. Individually, Muhammad helped coach a pair of gymnasts to All-Mid-American Conference Second Team honors. Muhammad began her coaching career at Temple as a graduate assistant who was responsible for coaching the Owls on vault. In her first season, she helped TU claim its first-ever Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship title in school history. She also assisted in coaching three individual gymnasts at the 2019 NCAA Athens Regional, including ECAC Rookie of the Year Ariana Castrence on vault. Temple ended the year ranked inside the top 50 of the Road to Nationals Rankings, its highest ranking in more than 20 years. While at WVU, Muhammad competed in 51 career meets and totaled 1,552.8125 points for the Mountaineers. She also ranks No. 10 in program history with 16 career scores of 9.9 or better and No. 9 with six career vault scores of 9.9 or better. Muhammad finished her career with 75 podium finishes and 20 event wins.