Jackson State University Women's Basketball

Margaret Richards was named the seventh head coach of the women’s basketball program for the 2024-25 season. In her first season at Jackson State, Richards led the Tigers to the top of the conference with a 16-15 overall record, 13-5 in SWAC play and a fourth-place finish following the regular season. Under her leadership, Taleah Dilworth was named SWAC Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and All-SWAC First Team. Dilworth was named to BOXTOROW's HBCU All-America First-Team. Richards also coached Zoe Cooper, who was named to the 2025 HBCU All-Star team. Team JSU completed its season in the SWAC semifinals matchup.  A19-year collegiate coaching veteran, she comes to Jackson State from Mercer where she joined the staff after an eight-year run as head coach at Alabama A&M where she paced the Bulldogs to nearly 100 wins and six appearances in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Tournament, including a run to the semifinals of the 2019-20 event. Alabama A&M also reeled in 13 league victories during the 2021-22 campaign on the way to a runner-up finish in the final SWAC regular season standings. During her time in Huntsville, Ala., the AAMU women's basketball program reeled in six all-conference honors, including a pair of first-team selections. Alabama A&M turned in a trio of winning seasons with her at the helm and put together an eight-game turnaround that bridged her first and second seasons. Richards dove into the coaching world as an assistant at Kentucky State where she played a key role in helping the Thorobreds have an 18-game turnaround across two seasons. In two years she played a pair in helping lead Kentucky State to a 19-9 clip and a fourth-place finish in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) to highlight the 2006-07 campaign. A graduate assistant coach during Louisville's run to a 26-10 record and an appearance in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, Richards was named head coach at Saint Augustine's in time for the 2008-09 campaign and led the Falcons to a 33-24 clip across two seasons, highlighted by an 18-10 record and a Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Western Division championship in 2009-10. During her time at SAU, the team had two All-CIAA and CIAA All-Rookie Team honors, while Richards was named CIAA Coach of the Week six times. Richards took on roles as an assistant coach at both North Texas (2010-11) and Weber State (2011-12) before joining Western Kentucky prior to the 2012-13 campaign. During her time at WKU, Lady Toppers compiled a 76-25 (.752) clip and made three postseason appearances, including berths in both the 2013-14 and 2014-15 NCAA Tournament. WKU carried the nation's 11th-best field goal percentage on the way to a 30-5 record in Richards’s final season on staff. Following WKU, Richards was hired on as assistant coach at Clemson in time for the 2015-16 season before being named as Alabama A&M's fifth head coach on June 2, 2016. Richards played in 117 games (69 starts) at Nebraska from 1999-2004 and was voted as NU's best defensive player as a senior after averaging 9.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. She highlighted her playing career with five double-doubles, a Big 12 Player of the Week honor, and a trio of all-tournament team selections. A native of Louisville, Ky., Richards earned her bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Nebraska in 2003.

Dylan Howard was promoted to Associate Head Coach during June 2025 after a one-year stint as an assistant coach for the Jackson State women's program. He joined the Jackson State staff after a one-year stint at Oakwood following a one-year stint as the associate head coach for the Southern men's basketball team. During his first season at Jackson, Howard helped lead the team to a fourth place finish in the SWAC regular season and a berth in the tournament semifinals.The Tigers led the conference in several statistical categories including free throw percentage (72.3), three-point field goal percentage (31.4), three-point percentage defense (27.0), and three-pointers per game (5.4). They also finished top three in free throws made per game (13.71), defensive rebounds per game (24.9), and winning percentage. Jackson State ended the 2024-25 campaign with the Player (and Newcomer) of the Year in the conference Taleah Dilworth and HBCU All-Star selection Zoe Cooper. He is no stranger to the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) after serving as an assistant coach at Mississippi Valley State and Alabama A&M, before serving three years as the men's head coach for the Bulldogs. During his time at Southern, he held the Jaguars finish as the top-scoring team in the league and one of the top defensive teams in the nation finishing seventh in turnovers forced per game. While at Alabama A&M, he helped the Bulldogs to the conference semifinals, and his team was ranked No. 1 in the RPI rankings. Howard has helped develop several all-conference performers during his career as well as All-Americans in his 28-year coaching career. During the 2021-22 season, Alabama A&M saw its best record since its 2015-16 outing going 10-8 in conference play. They made it to the semi-final round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship Tournament last season for the first time in five years. Throughout his tenure at Alabama A&M as the head coach, Dylan Howard had great success on off the court. He had several big in state wins vs Jacksonville St, Troy, North Alabama, South Alabama, and Samford. After the Samford win in 2020 Coach Howard had his team ranked #1 in the nation in the RPI rankings. The first time any HBCU was ranked #1. Coach Howard also was successful in the classroom having a multiyear APR score of 947. Player development was a big key for his success. One of the best players in conference was Jalen Johnson from Indianapolis, Indiana. He was First-Team All SWAC in 2022 and Second-Team All SWAC in 2021. He was also two-time BOXTOROW All American. Howard took over the Bulldog program as the interim head coach prior to the 2018 season and immediately impacted the program's success. As interim head coach he recruited and developed Andre Kennedy into Second-Team All SWAC.   Before leading the Alabama A&M men's basketball program, Howard acted as the associate head coach for the 2017-18 season. He held the same position at Morehead State for five seasons, helping the team win 86 games and a second-place finish in the 2016 College Basketball Invitational. Howard was the top assistant at Mississippi Valley State from 2008-11. He assisted in putting together two top-50 recruiting classes in three seasons at MVSU. Coach Howard recruited five All-SWAC players, including 2012 MVP Paul Crosby and SWAC Tournament MVP Cor-J Cox. Prior to MVSU, Howard had a seven-year run (2001-08) as the head coach at Division III Hardin-Simmons in Abilene, Texas.  He was named American Southwest Conference Coach of the Year in 2005 after guiding the Cowboys to their first-ever league tournament appearance.  In 2007, HSU reached the ASC Tournament championship game for the first time in school history. Coach Howard developed three conference players of year while at Hardin Simmons. Calvin Nite (2005), Zach Pickelman (2007), and Mardochee Jean (2008).  Coach Howard started his coaching career at the University of St. Francis (NAIA) in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He helped guide St. Francis to a 31-win season and the #1 ranked team in the nation in 2000 and coached the national player of the year Steve Smith.  As a player, Howard played at UAB. As a player he won 84 games and led them to NCAA Tournament appearances in 1986 and 1987 and an NIT Final Four berth in 1989. After college, he went on to be a two-time all-league selection in the Asian Professional Basketball Association in Taipei, Taiwan. Howard earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from UAB in 1992 and a master's degree in sports recreation and management from Hardin-Simmons in 2005 obtaining a 4.0 GPA while being the head coach. In 2010, Howard was named to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame's Silver Anniversary Team. Howard, a McDonald’s All-American Nominee, was invited to the 1985 McDonald’s Derby Classic, was rated as high as the nation’s 11th-best player in the nation in high school. Howard is married to his wife Nicole, and they have one daughter, Danielle.

Pat Richardson enters his first season as Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach at Jackson State University, following two seasons as Assistant Men's Basketball Coach at Quincy University in Quincy, Ill. During Richardson's stint at Quincy, he was able to coach three all-conference players and was even appointed Interim Head Coach for the Hawks late in the 2021-22 season, leading the team to a 3-1 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) record and elevating the team to a .500 record. In his second season, in 2022-23, he helped coach the Hawks to several key conference wins, including a 62-57 win over the No. 1 GLVC team, the University of Indianapolis, at home.   Prior to his term at Quincy, Richardson spent several years at Alabama A&M University. He served as Special Assistant to the head coach from 2018-20, helping the Bulldogs to their most regular- season wins since 2015-16. Home wins over Troy University, Jacksonville State University and the University of North Alabama marked the first time the program had won three straight non-conference games since the 2010-11 season..   Richardson was labeled special assistant at AAMU after spending 2013-17 as a graduate assistant for the Bulldogs. During that time, he assisted in coaching four all-conference players as the program secured its first win over a Southeastern Conference team with a victory over Mississippi State University in Starkville, Miss. Richardson spent his undergraduate years as the head basketball manager for the Bulldogs under the leadership of coaches Van Pettaway and Willie Hayes. A Dean’s List student, he went on to graduate from Alabama A&M with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education with a concentration in Sports Management in 2012.   Richardson also held stints as Basketball Camp Instructor at Alabama A&M from June 2008 to May 2013 and Basketball Camp Instructor/Manager at the NCAA College Basketball Academy in Houston, Tex. in July 2019.  He served as Assistant Boy’s Basketball Coach at Chapman Middle School in Huntsville, Ala. from November 2013 to February 2017. A native of Montgomery, Ala., Richardson attended Jefferson Davis High School in the city.  

Katrina Howard joins the Jackson Staff as the Director of Operations after a stint under current head coach Margaret Richards at Alabama A&M.   Howard served under Richards as a graduate assistant coach for the Bulldogs where she was responsible for several facets of the staff. While serving as a graduate assistant, she assumed the role of Director of Operations and was responsible for different aspects of team travel, team gear and equipment, and was also the team liaison to the hotel.   She was also responsible for supervising the team managers, serving as a team camp/elite camp director and co-director, organizing official visits, and different aspects of recruiting. Howard was able to do that along with serving as an Academic Coach and uploading game footage to Synergy.   Prior to her time as a graduate assistant, she served as a women’s basketball manager from 2015 until her role as a graduate assistant in 2021.   Howard holds a bachelor degree in Construction Management from Alabama A&M, and earned her master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning in May 2024 from Alabama A&M.