Kansas women’s basketball coach Brandon Schneider announced the hirings of two new assistants on Friday morning: Jerise Freeman and Jayci Stone.
Both are Kansans with power-conference coaching experience. They replace Morgan Paige, who was recently hired as the head coach at Loyola-Chicago, and Karyla Knight. Returning coaches Brock McGinnis and Patrick Schrater have also received the new titles of associate head coach and assistant coach/recruiting coordinator, respectively.
“Jerise and Jayci both have extensive experience both in college basketball and the Big 12 Conference,” Schneider said in a press release. “They 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.”
Freeman, who will be an assistant head coach, arrives at KU after stints as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Oregon and Utah. A Wichita native, she played college basketball at Pacific before beginning her coaching career at Pittsburg State and Butler Community College, and also spent time at Missouri State, Newman, Eastern Washington and in the Big 12 at Oklahoma State.
“I’m excited to be back in my home state of Kansas and it feels right,” Freeman said in the release. “I’m honored and ready for the opportunity to work with this group of great coaches and players. I can’t wait to see what we build. The best is yet to come. Rock Chalk!”
Stone will be an assistant coach for the Jayhawks. She began her coaching career where she finished playing, at NCAA Division II Alaska Anchorage. She is a Goodland native with a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State and a master’s from TCU; she coached at both schools at various points, as a video coordinator and director of operations for the Horned Frogs and at K-State for two years before spending three seasons as the director of student-athlete development at Arkansas.
Along the way, she also worked at Frank Phillips College, Hutchinson Community College, Southern Utah, and Stephen F. Austin. Her husband Mike Neighbors is the former head coach at Arkansas and was recently hired as an assistant by the Dallas Wings of the WNBA.
“My Rock Chalk roots have brought so much joy to my life, and I can’t wait to share that enthusiasm with my family in Lawrence,” Stone said. “I’m humbled to get to work in such a basketball rich environment. Coach Schneider and his staff laid the blueprint for success, and I can’t be more grateful to continue that journey with them.”
Freeman, Stone and the rest of the staff will be working with a lot of returning talent in the 2026-27 season, headlined by sophomore forward Jaliya Davis and senior guard S’Mya Nichols. After losing in the WBIT semifinals to conclude last season, the Jayhawks also bring back Tatyonna Brown, Libby Fandel, Brittany Harshaw and Regan Williams and will add freshmen Cydnee Bryant, Mollie Ernstes and Brooklynn Renn, as well as transfers Erianna Gooden (Colorado) and Mariyah Noel (Xavier), with more potentially still to come.
Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World
