Morgan State said Wednesday that it filled its head coaching vacancy for women’s basketball with former WNBA player and Virginia State coach Nadine Domond.

The hiring was announced jointly by university president David K. Wilson and athletic director Dena Freeman-Patton.

Domond succeeds Edward Davis Jr., who retired after the Bears’ 74-67 loss to UMES in the quarterfinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament on March 13. Davis, who had amassed 469 victories in a 33-year coaching career, spent the past 14 seasons in Baltimore — including the last nine guiding the program to 120 wins, which ranks third on the school’s all-time list.

“I’m incredibly honored to join Morgan State University as the next head coach of the Lady Bears,” Domond said in a statement distributed by the university. “The 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. I thank President Wilson and AD Freeman-Patton for presenting me with this opportunity. Morgan represents everything I believe in excellence, legacy, and a commitment to developing student-athletes into champions in every arena of their lives. I chose Morgan because I see the vision, the potential, and the hunger to win, and I’m ready to build something special here.”

Domond had coached the past three years at Virginia State, compiling a 58-28 overall record (including back-to-back campaigns of at least 20 victories) and a 35-14 mark in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. During her tenure, the Trojans advanced to the CIAA Tournament semifinals in 2023 and 2024, the title game in February, and their first NCAA Division II Tournament last month when they fell to Edinboro, 80-68, in the first round.

This past winter, Domond led Virginia State to a 23-7 record, a 14-2 conference mark, and a CIAA Northern Division championship, which contributed to her earning the league’s Coach of the Year award. The team’s defense ranked No. 24 nationally in field-goal percentage (.356), No. 25 in steals per game (11.2), and No. 29 in 3-point field-goal percentage (.265).

“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,” Wilson said. “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. We are thrilled to welcome her into the Morgan family.”

As a freshman at Iowa in 1994-95, Domond played guard under Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer. During her four-year career with the Hawkeyes, Domond helped them capture a Big Ten championship in 1997, earn three NCAA Tournament berths, and was an All-Big Ten second-team selection.

After graduating in 1998 with a bachelor’s in African American world studies and instructional design, Domond was chosen by the New York Liberty with the 19th overall pick in the 1998 WNBA draft. After playing for the Sacramento Monarchs and internationally in France, Poland and Israel, she was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.

Domond began coaching in 2002 as a graduate assistant and assistant coach at MEAC rival Hampton before rejoining Stringer at Rutgers. Domond got her first head coaching opportunity at Grambling State from 2014 to 2016. In 2015, she was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s Coach of the Year after leading the Tigers to a 17-14 record and a 13-5 league mark.

“Coach Domond brings a level of excellence that is consistent with the direction we are taking our athletic programs at Morgan,” Freeman-Paton said. “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 right choice. She’s the right leader to guide this program to new heights.”

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.