BALTIMORE, Md. (April 9, 2025) — In a move that underscores the strength and rising visibility of HBCU athletics, Morgan State University has hired Nadine Domond as the new head coach of its women’s basketball program. Domond arrives at Morgan from Virginia State University, making the transition from a successful stint at a Division II HBCU to take the reins at a Division I HBCU.
The announcement comes just days after a high-profile NCAA Tournament weekend and during the inaugural Women’s HBCU All-Star Game—an event where Domond served as one of the first coaches. Her hire represents a the growing pipeline of coaching talent emerging from HBCU programs.
Domond led Virginia State to back-to-back 20-win seasons and guided the program to its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament. In 2024–25, her team finished with a 21-5 regular season record, won the CIAA Northern Division, and reached the CIAA Championship Game. Her teams were known for defensive toughness, ranking 16th nationally in opponent field goal percentage and allowing just 60 points per game.
Her success was recognized with several honors, including CIAA Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year and HBCU All-Stars Lonnie Bartley NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year.
“Morgan has always been a place where excellence is not only expected but cultivated—and that is exactly what we see in Coach Nadine Domond,” said Morgan State President David K. Wilson. “She brings a championship mindset, a proven track record of developing women both on and off the court, and a vision that aligns perfectly with our aspirations for the Lady Bears.”
Domond brings experience from every level of basketball. As a player, she starred at the University of Iowa under Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer, where she was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection, a Big Ten champion, and a three-time NCAA Tournament participant. She also won a silver medal with USA Basketball in 1997 and was selected 19th overall by the New York Liberty in the 1998 WNBA Draft. She later played for the Sacramento Monarchs and was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
Her coaching career began at Hampton University, another HBCU, and included stops at Rutgers, Grambling State—where she was named SWAC Coach of the Year in 2015—and most recently, Virginia State.
“Coach Domond brings a level of excellence that is consistent with the direction we are taking our athletic programs at Morgan,” said Dena Freeman-Patton, Morgan’s vice president and director for Intercollegiate Athletics.
“Her success as both a coach and a player, her ability to recruit and connect within the DMV, and her commitment to building young women into champions on and off the court made her the clear choice.”
Domond succeeds longtime head coach Ed Davis Jr., who retired following the 2024–25 season after a 33-year collegiate coaching career. Under Davis, the Lady Bears captured a share of the MEAC regular-season title in 2022 but have yet to earn a Division I NCAA Tournament appearance.
“I’m incredibly honored to join Morgan State University as the next head coach of the Lady Bears,” Domond said. “This opportunity comes at the perfect time—not just in my journey but in the evolution of women’s college basketball and the rise of HBCU programs across the country.”
Her hire is the fourth major coaching selection made by Freeman-Patton since 2022, following appointments in football, wrestling, and acrobatics and tumbling. Morgan State is expected to formally introduce Domond in a press conference on campus in the coming weeks.