JACKSONVILLE – Annette Watts, with more than 20 years of coaching experience at both the high school and collegiate level, has been named the head women's basketball coach at Jacksonville State, athletics director Oval Jaynes announced today.

Watts spent the last nine years as the head coach at Davidson, where she was the winningest head coach in the program's history, and led the Wildcats to five-straight winning seasons.

“We are extremely excited about the future of our women's basketball program under the leadership of Coach Watts,” said Jaynes. “She brings a high level of experience, including successful tenures in the high school ranks and on the collegiate level in Division I.”

Watts has served on a staff that has made the Women's NCAA Division I Final Four, as well as coached a high school team to the state quarterfinals, and also led Davidson to its first-ever postseason appearance with a trip to the 2006-07 WNIT.

"I want to thank President Bill Meehan, Athletic Director Oval Jaynes, Senior Women's Administrator Tracy Broom and the search committee for providing this opportunity,” said Watts. “Jacksonville State is a program that I believe is growing and going! I will work tirelessly to help these players reach their potential and to elevate Jacksonville State Women's Basketball to one of the best in the Ohio Valley Conference."

Watts was named the 2005 Southern Conference Coach of the Year by the league's media, the first Davidson coach to earn SoCon Coach of the Year honors, after leading the Wildcats to a school-record 18 wins. Davidson also had a school-record 14 conference victories and earned the second seed in the SoCon Tournament, the highest seed ever for Davidson in its 13 trips to the league tourney that season.

In her first four years at the helm of the Wildcats program, Davidson's record improved every season. After Davidson finished 9-19 in the 2000-01 season, Watts was brought in to turn the program around. As witnessed by her career record, the win totals increased from 10 in Watts' first year to 18 by her fourth season.

" I am very excited to not only lead the women's basketball program at Jacksonville State, but to embrace the wonderful community that supports the program,” Watts said. “I look forward to being involved in the Jacksonville area and becoming a part of the Jacksonville State athletics family."

Prior to arriving at Davidson, Watts spent two seasons as head coach at Jackson County Comprehensive High School in Jefferson, Ga. She guided that team to the 2001 state quarterfinals and compiled an overall record of 38-20 in two years as head coach of the Lady Panthers. Her success on the court at Jackson County earned her Coach of the Year honors from the Jackson Herald News.

Before her stint at Jackson, Watts spent two seasons as an assistant under Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow at N.C. State. While with the Wolfpack, she was responsible for scouting opposing teams and recruiting, as well as on-floor coaching. Watts helped lead the 1997-98 Wolfpack squad to its first Final Four appearance. During her two-year tenure in Raleigh, the Wolfpack went 42-19 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament both years.

As a collegiate athlete, Coach Watts spent four seasons at East Tennessee State University where she played guard for the Lady Bucs. She received a bachelor of science degree from ETSU in 1981. Watts continued her post-graduate work at East Tennessee State, earning a master's degree in secondary math education in 1985.

After departing ETSU, Watts taught and coached basketball at Greeneville (Tenn.) High School for eight years. Active in the Greeneville community, she headed up the Lady Devil (YMCA) Basketball Camp for seven years.

Watts then moved south from Greeneville and served as head women's coach and full-time teacher at Robert Wood Johnson Comprehensive High School in Gainesville, Ga., where she compiled a career mark of 125-51. She was named Gainesville Times Coach of the Year three times (1992, '95 and '96) and also served as director of the Lady Knight Basketball Camp from 1990-95.

In addition to her wealth of coaching experience, Watts was also selected to a three-year term as a member of the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee for Division I women's basketball. She has also represented the SoCon as a member of the WBCA conference captains for three years.

“I would like to thank Tracy Broom and the excellent work of the search committee in identifying our candidates,” Jaynes added. “I was very pleased with the number of applicants that expressed an interest in our position.”