William & Mary Athletics

Kenia Cole enters her sixth season as a member of the Tribe women's basketball coaching staff and second as director of recruiting in 2026-27. She joined the program prior to the 2021-22 season and was retained by head coach Erin Dickerson Davis when she took over the program in 2022-23. Cole added director of recruiting responsibilities to her assistant coaching role in May 2025.

Cole helped guide William & Mary to another successful season in 2025-26 as the Tribe finished 17-14 overall and advanced to the CAA Championship Quarterfinals. The 17 victories marked the second-highest win total during Davis' tenure and secured the program's fifth consecutive postseason appearance.

The Tribe earned 10 road victories, the second-most in program history, and won four of its final five games, including a postseason victory over N.C. A&T in the second round of the CAA Championship. During non-conference play, William & Mary won six consecutive games, highlighted by a 67-64 road victory at Wake Forest. The win marked the program's first victory over a power-conference opponent since 2015 and its first-ever win over the Demon Deacons.

Under Cole's guidance, the Tribe continued to build momentum both on and off the court. William & Mary led the CAA in home attendance with an average of 1,081 fans per game, the second-highest mark in program history. The Tribe welcomed four of the 10 largest crowds in school history during the season, including a program-record attendance of 1,439 against Towson on Feb. 15.

Individually, Cassidy Geddes earned CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year and All-CAA Second Team honors after leading the Tribe in scoring at 13.7 points per game and becoming the 23rd player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. Tika Sallman earned CAA Player of the Week honors twice, becoming the first Tribe player since 2022-23 to earn multiple conference player of the week awards in the same season, while Monet Dance also garnered conference weekly recognition. Geddes, Alexa Mikeska and Natalie Fox were named CSC Academic All-District selections.

Cole and the rest of the staff aided the Tribe to a historic season in 2024-25, culminating in the school's first CAA title and first trip to the NCAA Tournament, ending the school's drought as the only original DI member to have never made the NCAA Tournament in men's or women's basketball. The Tribe made more history beating High Point in the NCAA First Four in Austin, Texas for the program's first ever NCAA Tournament win. W&M also set records for most field goals and assists in a single season and forced its most turnovers since 2010 with Cole's help on the bench.

She also played a role in the development of Bella Nascimento, who was named the CAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player and was also an All-CAA Second Team Selection in 2024-25 while leading the league in scoring during conference play.

A three-time WBCA Thirty-Under-30 honoree, in 2023-24 Cole aided W&M to a 12-6 record in CAA play for the second consecutive season, matching the program record for league wins in a season. With Cole's help on the bench the Tribe got off to their best start in program history through 11 CAA games, posting an 8-3 mark. She and the rest of Erin Dickerson Davis' staff became the fastest to 20 conference wins in program history (29 games) and the fastest to 30 overall wins since 1929 (53 games).

Her coaching also helped guide Nylah Young and Cassidy Geddes to All-CAA First Team and CAA All-Rookie Team honors, respectively. Young finished the year second in the conference in scoring at 16.1 points per game and Geddes finished her first college season third in the CAA in scoring among rookies.

Cole comes to the Tribe after spending two years as an assistant at Hampton University and boasts plenty of experience on the bench. She got her coaching start at Oberlin College in the 2017-18 season when she helped the team take home their first ever North Coast Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship. 
 
From Oberlin, Cole moved to Presbyterian College for the 2018-19 season. In her time in Clinton, S.C. Cole worked with the guards and helped Presbyterian to a conference championship semifinal appearance.
 
The Silver Spring, Md. native then coached at her alma mater, returning to Hampton University prior to the 2019-20 season. During her first season at Hampton, the Pirates finished third in the Big South with a 14-6 record. Cole helped bring a defensive intensity to Hampton as the Pirates finished among the nation's best in defensive points per game and turnovers forced in the 2020-21 season. 
 
As a player Cole was a staple in the Hampton backcourt all four years on campus before graduating in May 2015. On the floor she helped lead the Pirates to four MEAC regular season titles and three trips to the NCAA Tournament.

Cole currently resides in Williamsburg with her son Krue.