Mississippi State head coach Sam Purcell made his third addition to the Bulldogs’ coaching staff this offseason, hiring former Tennessee assistant Samantha Williams as an assistant coach.
Williams spent the last three seasons with the Volunteers under Kellie Harper, helping Tennessee reach at least the second round of the NCAA Tournament each year. Prior to that, she was the head coach at Eastern Kentucky from 2019-21, taking a program coming off a 2-27 season and guiding the Colonels to 11 wins in her first year there.
From 2011 until 2019, Williams was on the coaching staff at Louisville under Jeff Walz, where she worked with Purcell for six years. The Cardinals won a pair of ACC titles with Williams and Purcell on the staff and reached the Final Four in 2018.
“I’m so excited to join Coach Purcell and his staff and be a part of this program and community,” Williams said. “There’s a level of trust where he knows that I will have his back. He has a clear vision for where he wants to take this program and I can’t wait to do my part in helping him accomplish those goals.”
Before arriving at Louisville, Williams spent four years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Duke, helping the Blue Devils win the ACC twice. She was at DePaul in the same role for three years prior to that, and the Blue Demons reached the NCAA Tournament in all three of those seasons, advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2006. Williams’ coaching career began with brief stints at Saint Louis and Columbus (Ga.) State.
A four-year starter at Auburn, Williams played in the NCAA Tournament three times with the Tigers, and she spent the 2003-04 season at her alma mater as an assistant coach. Purcell, also an Auburn graduate, was a video coordinator and administrative assistant for the Tigers’ program at the time.
Williams joins former Eastern Michigan head coach Fred Castro and former Georgia Southern head coach Anita Howard on Purcell’s staff, along with Tony Dukes, the lone holdover from the staff last season.
“I’ve known Samantha Williams since my first day in coaching,” Purcell said. “We’ve experienced a lot of success together at Auburn and Louisville and that time working alongside her makes her a valuable asset to this staff. Her resume speaks for itself, but knowing who she is as a person and what she will contribute to our program both on and off the court makes me even more excited for our student-athletes.”
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