SALEM, West Virginia – After a strong women’s basketball season that saw the Tigers’ finish just short of a USCAA Division I National Championship back in March, there is some exciting news coming out of the Salem women’s basketball program. Namely, the Tigers’ will have some new leadership going into the 2023-2024 season. Nikayla Edgell has been named head coach of the Salem University Tigers women’s basketball program.
Edgell comes to Salem from just a few miles up the road from Philippi, where she served as an assistant coach for local rival Alderson Broaddus University. Additionally, this is not Edgell’s first time in Salem, as she served as an assistant coach under Salem women’s basketball coach Cody Gilmore during the 2021-2022 season. Her experience with Salem and with the landscape of women’s basketball in the state of West Virginia should serve her well in her new role leading the Tigers. Prior to that time with Salem, Edgell coached at the club level with New Level Basketball Academy, a development program she developed for youth basketball student-athletes in and around her home town of East Liverpool, Ohio. Edgell also played collegiately at NCAA Division III LaRoche College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In regards to taking over the Salem women’s basketball team, Edgell has the following to say, “I am excited for this opportunity to lead these young women. I want to thank the Salem administration for believing in me to take on this role and for the opportunity to return to a place that means so much to me. I am eager to get things started and thrilled to coach this talented group.”
Athletic Director Alex Joseph also had some thoughts about the new leadership of Salem women’s basketball. He commented, “We are really excited to bring Nikayla on board. She is a young talented coach that is eager to put in the hard work with her student-athletes in order to succeed here at Salem, both on and off the court. I feel she is well equipped to continue the positive strides Salem women’s basketball made this season, and I am excited to see that continued development over the coming season.”
The Salem University Athletics department is excited to have Head Coach Nikayla Edgell back in Salem, and we look forward to a strong 2023-2024 campaign for our new coach, and, most importantly, for our student-athletes.
