Jacksonville University Men's Basketball

Troy Pierce enters his third season as an assistant coach at Jacksonville under Head Coach Jordan Mincy after being hired in 2022. In his first year with the program, he helped the Dolphins spring a buy-game upset of VCU in the Siegel Center, extend a home win streak to 21-games, second-longest in program history, and finish top-two in the ASUN Conference in three different defensive statistical categories. During his second season, Pierce helped coach JU to two wins in the ASUN Tournament, including a victory over #1 EKU. Pierce joined the Dolphins after serving as an assistant coach at Southern Illinois – Edwardsville for three seasons.   The Emporia, Kansas native was described as a well-rounded, passionate and selfless coach with a high IQ by SIUE head coach Brian Barone. He helped the Cougars get back to the Ohio Valley Conference tournament each of his last two years there, and tutored players such as Ray-Sean Taylor, who was selected to the OVC All-Newcomer Team this past season, as well as multiple conference weekly award winners.   Prior to SIUE, Pierce spent three seasons at Bradley as the Coordinator of Player Development and Video Operations. While with the Braves, he played a part in back-to-back 20-win seasons and the 2019 Missouri Valley Tournament Championship, the first for the program in 31 years, also earning the school's first NCAA Tournament berth since 2006.   While in Peoria, Illinois, his responsibilities included helping student-athletes with academics, and he guided five players to MVC Scholar-Athlete Team honors.   Before his time at Bradley, he served as an assistant coach at Emporia State, helping the Hornets to two Mid-America Athletic Association Tournament appearances. He was responsible for scouting, video, academics and player development.   He began his coaching career at Illinois-Springfield during the 2013-14 season, when the Prairie Stars earned their first ever Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament win.   He played collegiately at Butler Community College, where he helped lead the Grizzlies to 54 wins in two seasons as well as a Conference and Region VI Championship and an appearance in the National Tournament. After being named a First Team All-Region selection, he went on to continue his career at Charleston Southern and Emporia State.   He graduated from Emporia State with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's in health and physical education.   Pierce and his wife, Raney, have two children, daughter Layla and son Malcolm.

EDUCATION - Master of Science in Athletic Training, Indian Wesleyan University, 2020 -Master of Science in Human Performance, Jacksonville State University, 2020 - Bachelor of Science Degree- Athletic Training, University of Central Florida, 2017 CAREER/WORK EXPERIENCE - Assistant Athletic Trainer, Jacksonville University, 2021-present - Intern Athletic Trainer, Jacksonville University, 2020-2021 - Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer, Jacksonville State University, 2018-2020 - Orlando Orthopaedic Center, Certified Athletic Trainer, Durable Medical Equipment, 2017-2018 - Athletic Training Student, University of Central Florida, 2015-2017   AWARDS/HONORS - Jacksonville University Athletics Department Staff of the Year Award, 2021   PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS - National Athletic Trainers’ Association                                                                                      - Southeast Athletic Trainers’ Association                                                                                    - The Athletic Trainers’ Association of Florida   PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS - Board of Certification, Inc. Athletic Trainer - State of Florida, Department of Health, Licensed Athletic Trainer - CPR/AED for Professional Rescuers and Health Care Providers, American Red Cross -Foundations in Dry Needling for Orthapedic Rehab + Sports Performance (SFDNI) - Approved Clinical Instructor for the UNF Athletic Training Education Program             PERSONAL - Hometown: Orlando, FL                                                                       

Desmond Kennedy is in his first season as a graduate assistant with Jacksonville University men's basketball program.   Originally from Dallas, TX and has been around the game of basketball his entire life. He was blessed to have a successful playing collegiate career, which gave him an opportunity to play professionally overseas in Argentina. During his collegiate career, he scored a career-high of 61 points in a single game, while being at Cedar Valley Junior College.   Kennedy is a 2020 graduate of Texas A&M University-Texarkana earning a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. During his senior year, Desmond received First Team All-Conference, All-Tournament, All-American HM, and was selected to participate in the All-Star Game. He was part of the inaugural year of the men’s basketball program at TAMUT.   For more than 2 years, Desmond has run a transformative basketball training business known as “DK Blueprint”, which offers basketball training to top professional, collegiate, and youth players to improve their skills. He’s built a strong foundation and fan base on popular social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.  

Henry Zimmer joined the Jacksonville Athletic Department in the summer of 2024 as an Athletics Communications Graduate Assistant and was promoted to Assistant Director of Athletic Communications in the fall of '24.  Zimmer joins the Jacksonville Athletic staff after two years as the sports editor for the Alexander City Outlook and Dadeville Record newspapers in central Alabama as part of Boone Newsmedia, Inc. There, Zimmer won six first place Alabama Press Association awards while covering high school sports across six different high schools in Alabama’s Tallapoosa, Coosa and Elmore Counties and was awarded the APA's Best Overall Sports Coverage in 2025. He was also a sports reporter for the Wetumpka Herald and Tallassee Tribune, helping to cover another six high schools.  Before working in the newspaper industry, Zimmer attended Auburn University, obtaining a degree in journalism. Zimmer was a five-year member of the student-run Auburn Plainsman newspaper, working his way up from sportswriter to sports reporter, assistant sports editor and finally sports editor. At Auburn, Zimmer covered all things Auburn athletics and traveled to multiple bowl games, along with two full years of travel with football and a year of travel with basketball. He wrote for SEC tournament and playoff appearances for football, basketball and gymnastics along with various combine and media day coverage.  Zimmer was born in Chicago, Illinois but moved to Jacksonville in 2008. He attended the Episcopal School of Jacksonville. In his free time, Zimmer writes weekly articles for the SBNation blog Big Cat Country, covering the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Zimmer is the son of Tom and Langdon Zimmer. He has one sibling, Anne-Charles Zimmer. 

Lavender Briggs is a former standout basketball player known for her impressive achievements at both the collegiate and high school levels. She earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2023 and 2024 with Maryland, along with being named to the All-SEC Second Team in 2021 and the All-SEC Freshman Team in 2020 with Florida. Notably, she was recognized as SEC Player of the Week on January 19, 2021, and SEC Freshman of the Week on February 18, 2020. In her senior season, Briggs set a state record by averaging 32.2 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. She made history as the first Florida women's basketball player to participate in the Jordan Brand Classic in 2019 and was named to the All-USA Utah First Team in 2018-19. Her remarkable high school career included a state record of 683 points in a single season and 1,908 career points, ranking second in Utah state history. She also set the state record for points in a single game with 53, including a record-setting 32-point half. Briggs was a nominee for the 2019 McDonald's All-American Game and led Provo High School to the Class 5A state quarterfinals in 2019. Ranked No. 14 among guards and No. 48 overall in ESPN’s 2019 rankings, she established herself as a formidable talent in women’s basketball. After her playing career, Briggs transitioned into coaching, where she continues to share her passion for the game.