Jacks hire Kacie Jones as assistant women’s basketball coach

The South Dakota State women’s basketball program has announced the addition of Kacie Jones to its staff as an assistant coach. 
 
With the Jackrabbits, Jones’ primary duties will include perimeter player development and recruiting. 
 
“I am thrilled to welcome Kacie to our Jackrabbit family,” said head coach Aaron Johnston. “Creating an exceptional student-athlete experience is our goal, and her passion towards fulling that mission stood out in the hiring process. Her experiences as a student-athlete and collegiate coach will be assets for our program.”
 
Jones comes to South Dakota State from Kansas State, where she spent the past two seasons as the Wildcats’ director of basketball administration. At K-State, Jones was responsible for a number of administrative duties, including team operations and budget management. 
 
The Wildcats went 45-25 in Jones’ two seasons in Manhattan and advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in 2024. K-State was ranked as high at No. 2 in the AP Poll during the 2023-24 season and spent 19 consecutive weeks in the AP top-25. 
 
Prior to joining the staff at K-State, Jones was an assistant coach at Wayne State, her alma mater, from 2020 to 2022. Three Wildcats earned All-NSIC honors during that time, including two being named the NSIC South Player of the Year. Jones was also a graduate assistant coach at Northwestern College in Iowa for the 2019-20 season, where she helped the Red Raiders go 17-11 overall. Four Northwestern players earned All-GPAC honors in 2020. 
 
“I couldn’t be more excited to join the staff at SDSU,” said Jones. “This is a program with rich history and consistent success and I’m excited to become a part of it. I would like to thank Coach Aaron Johnston for this opportunity and I look forward to meeting Jackrabbit Nation! Go Jacks!”
 
Jones competed in both basketball and track and field for four seasons (2014-18) at Wayne State. She scored 754 career points as a Wildcat and led the team in 3-point shooting as a junior and senior. In track and field, Jones was the 2016 NSIC outdoor discus champion and national qualifier. 
 
Jones is a native of Sundance, Wyoming. She earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Wayne State in 2018 and a master’s degree in education from Northwestern in 2021.