KU women's basketball has hired Jerise Freeman as assistant head coach and Jayci Stone as assistant coach. Both coaches are Kansas natives with extensive college coaching experience.
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LAWRENCE â KU womenâs basketball has hired a pair of Kansas natives to join the coaching staff, the team announced in April.
One is Jerise Freeman, who most recently was an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Oregon. Sheâs from Wichita, Kansas. Sheâs coached for nearly two decades in college, including at Utah and Oklahoma State, and will be the teamâs new assistant head coach.
The second is Jayci Stone, who most recently was the director of student-athlete development at Arkansas. Sheâs from Goodland, Kansas. Her also-extensive coaching history includes time at Kansas State and TCU, and sheâll be an assistant coach for KU.
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âJerise and Jayci both have extensive experience both in college basketball and the Big 12 Conference,â Schneider said in a KU release. âThey are proven court coaches as it relates to teaching the game and developing players. Their strong, national recruiting ties will greatly benefit us as we continue to improve and advance our program.â
Schneider added: âJerise and Jayci will be incredible mentors for our young women both on and off the court and we are excited to bring them back to their home state.â
The release detailed those two will join Brock McGinnis and Patrick Schrater on the teamâs coaching staff for the 2026-27 campaign, with McGinnis being the associate head coach and Schrater the assistant coach/recruiting coordinator. Former associate head coach Morgan Paige was hired as the new head coach at Loyola Chicago. Karyla Knight was an assistant coach on this past seasonâs team, but was not listed in the release.
KU finished this past season at 22-14 overall, falling short of the NCAA tournament for the second-straight year. It did reach the second round of the Big 12 Conference tournament, and semifinals of the WBIT. With guard SâMya Nichols and forward Jaliya Davis set to return as the Jayhawksâ leading duo, aspirations will be to get back to the NCAA tournament next season.
The new assistant coaches are Jerise Freeman and Jayci Stone.
Jerise Freeman has coached for nearly two decades at schools like Oregon and Oklahoma State, while Jayci Stone has experience at Arkansas and Kansas State.
Jerise Freeman will serve as the assistant head coach, and Jayci Stone will be an assistant coach.
Their extensive experience and strong recruiting ties are expected to greatly benefit the program's development and improvement.
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âI'm excited to be back in my home state of Kansas and it feels right,â Freeman said. âI'm honored and ready for the opportunity to work with this group of great coaches and players. I canât wait to see what we build. The best is yet to come. Rock Chalk!â
Stone noted: âMy Rock Chalk roots have brought so much joy to my life, and I canât wait to share that enthusiasm with my family in Lawrence. Iâm humbled to get to work in such a basketball rich environment. Coach Schneider and his staff laid the blueprint for success, and I canât be more grateful to continue that journey with them.â
Kansas women's basketball head coach Brandon Schneider watches players during a second round game in the Big 12 tournament inside T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri on March 5, 2026.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Associationâs sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: What Brandon Schneider said on KU womenâs basketball staff additions