Jason Williams enters his fourth season as the head women's basketball coach at USC Upstate during the 2025-26 season after being introduced as the program's 16th head coach on April 22, 2022.
The 2024-25 campaign saw Cassie Gallagher earn Big South Conference Freshman of the Year honors as she also brought home Honorable Mention All-Big South and Big South All-Freshman Team nods. Gwen Jenkins joined Gallagher on the league's All-Freshman Team with the duo combining to win eight of the possible 15 Big South Freshman of the Week awards during the season. Underclassmen played a significant role for the Spartans during the campaign with eight different underclassmen featuring as the team's leading scorer at least once with a combined 35 double-figure scoring games put forth by underclassmen.
Upstate finished the year leading the Big South in rebounding margin, defensive rebounds per game, and rebounds per game with Rebekah Gordon leading the league in rebounding.
Williams' second season at the helm of the Spartan program saw Upstate qualify for its highest level of postseson basketball in the Divsion I era (2007-pres.), earning a bid to the 2024 WNIT. The bid followed the program's best regular season finish in the D1 era, finishing second in the Big South standings and earning the No. 2 seed in the Big South Women's Basketball Championship. The Spartans advanced to the semifinal round of the Championship for the first time in program history.
Following the regular season, guard Trinity Johnson earned Big South Defensive Player of the Year honors, becoming the program's first conference Defensive Player of the Year. Under William's guidance, the Spartans led the Big South in three-point percentage and free-throw percentage in 2023-24.
The 2022-23 campaign, Williams' first helming the Spartans, saw Upstate reel off the program’s best start to conference play since 2010-11, winning each of its first three Big South games, including the program’s first-ever victory over High Point.
Prior to joining the Spartan program, Williams spent the last nine seasons as the head coach at Belmont Abbey College (Belmont, N.C.), leading the program to 171 wins, three NCAA Division II Tournament appearances, including the program's first-ever Elite Eight appearance in 2021-22, two Conference Carolinas regular season championships, and one Conference Carolinas tournament championship.
During his tenure at Belmont Abbey, Williams led the Crusaders to five 20-win seasons and has won 19 or more games in seven of his nine seasons, including a streak of five straight seasons. For his efforts, he's been named Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year on four occasions, taking home the honor in 2013-14, 2017-18, 2019-20, and 2020-21.
Leading the Crusader program, Williams' teams claimed consecutive Conference Carolinas championships, taking the regular season championship in 2019-20 and 2020-21 while winning the conference tournament championship in 2020-21. Under his leadership, the program appeared in three NCAA Division II Tournaments, earning the program's first tournament victory in 15 years during his first season in 2013-14 and advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history in 2020-21 after earning the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Southeast Regional.
With 171 wins over the past nine seasons—making him the second-winningest NCAA women's basketball head coach in the state of North Carolina behind only NC State's Wes Moore—three combined conference titles, three NCAA appearances, and four conference Coach of the Year selections, Williams was selected as the next head coach in 2022.
Under his guidance, McKenzie Owens earned Conference Carolinas Player of the Year honors and an Honorable Mention All-American nod during the 2014-15 season, making her one of four Crusaders to earn the honor in program history. She also garnered back-to-back First Team All-Conference Carolinas selections in 2013-14 and 2014-15, becoming the first player in nearly 10 years to be named First Team in back-to-back seasons.
Under Williams' tutelage, Maria Kuhlman became Belmont Abbey's second Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year winner in program history in 2017-18 before wrapping her career with three consecutive First Team All-Conference selections, becoming the first player in program history to earn First Team honors in three straight seasons.
In addition to the program's major award winners and 21 All-Conference Carolinas selections, Williams' Crusader program has seen 29 Academic All-Conference Carolinas selections with his teams holding a 100 percent graduation rate. His program has also claimed three Messick Sportsmanship Awards—an award given to the institution that demonstrates the best overall sportsmanship as voted on by conference coaches—from Conference Carolinas, most recently in 2021-22.
Prior to rejoining the Belmont Abbey athletic department as its women's basketball head coach, Williams spent a season on staff at Jacksonville State University in 2012-13 following eight seasons on the Crusaders' men's basketball staff from 2004-2012.
