MORGANTOWN — West Virginia University women’s basketball coach Mike Carey Friday announced the hiring of Jill Pizzotti as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator on the Mountaineer staff.
“Jill brings everything to the table — from coaching background, recruiting contacts to being well-respected in the women’s basketball industry,” Carey said. “She has 10 years of head coaching experience which will be invaluable to our staff as we strive to reach our goals of winning the BIG EAST Conference and a national title. I’m very excited she is joining our Mountaineer family.”
Pizzotti, a native of Lombard, Ill., comes to the Mountaineers after serving as Nike’s manager of women’s college basketball and Girl’s Elite Youth basketball, in Beaverton, Ore., where she was the principal interactive liaison between Nike and 90% of the Top 25 women’s basketball programs in the country, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and USA Basketball.
“Through all my visits to West Virginia, the things that have stood out to me are coach Carey’s passion for the game and the level of play the young ladies possess. They play so hard. I’m also impressed with the community, both at WVU and in Morgantown; everyone I’ve come in touch with is very nice. I am looking forward to being around young people on a daily basis and competing in the Big East Conference.”
Prior to her tenure at Nike, Pizzotti served as the head women’s basketball coach at St. Louis where she was the second-winningest coach in Billikens history and guided the program to its first-ever post season tournament appearance with the 2003 WNIT.
From 1992-95, Pizzotti served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Indiana University where she helped the Hoosiers to the NCAA Tournament in 1994 and 1995.
