ARLINGTON, Texas --- David Pierre has officially joined the UT Arlington women's basketball staff as an assistant coach. He replaces Austin Kelly, who departed to join the WNBA's Connecticut Sun in a similar role.
 
Pierre comes to Arlington after nine seasons at Grambling State, where he most recently served as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the Tigers. While there, his team finished in the top five in defense within the conference five times.
 
In 2018, Pierre helped lead Grambling State to a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) tournament championship, which helped the Tigers advance to the NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 2 Baylor. One year prior, the program captured a share of the SWAC regular season title for the first time since 2000. In the WNIT that same year, the Tigers captured the SWAC's first-ever postseason tournament victory, a 78-75 win over Ole Miss.
 
In addition to the previous team accolades, Pierre was on staff in 2019 when Grambling State defeated Indiana and Loyola Marymount in the Puerto Rico Classic.

"We are so excited to add David to our coaching staff," UTA head coach Shereka Wright said. "He comes with a wealth of experience and connections that will help us continue to grow as a program. His knowledge of the game and development of players is what stood out to me in the hiring process. I look forward to David adding another layer of basketball knowledge to our staff. He knows how to win."

The team's lead assistant at Grambling State, Pierre worked with all aspects of the program, including perimeter player development, recruiting, academic support and opponent scouting. During his time there, he helped the Tigers amass a 90-68 record in SWAC play.

Pierre was instrumental in developing the team that captured those big wins as he brought in guards Shakyla Hill and Jazmin Boyd, who became two of the program's all-time greats.

Hill went on to score over 2,000 points in an illustrious career that saw her win SWAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year as a senior and land on the Dawn Staley Award Watch List multiple years. In her junior season, she became just the fourth-ever NCAA Division I player to record a quadruple-double, earning a shoutout from LeBron James on social media. Boyd, meanwhile, was a SWAC Freshman of the Year recipient who went on to score nearly 1,400 career points.

Other players Pierre helped recruit include: Monisha Neal, an all-conference player and 1,000 point scorer, Justice Coleman, an all-conference player who scored over 1,500 career points, and Alexus Holt, a First Team All-SWAC selection. Jasmine Forte and Kailyn Gideon also finished second and third all-time at Grambling State in career blocks.

Pierre also served an initial stint at Grambling State as a graduate assistant from 2006-08 before serving five seasons as an intramural sports coordinator and the coach for several men's and women's club teams. He also worked with several high schools on player development and fundamental instructional training.

Pierre earned a bachelor's degree in mass communication from Grambling State, as well as a master's in sports administration. Along with his wife, Latoya, he has three children, Kahlil, Haley and David III.

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