Lady Vols Basketball bids farewell to Assistant coach as she departs, joins Mississippi State Women’s Basketball
Mississippi State Women’s Basketball to Add Samantha Williams, Former Lady Vols Assistant
According to an informed source, Sam Purcell, the coach of Mississippi State women’s basketball, is set to welcome Samantha Williams as a new addition to his coaching staff. The source, who spoke anonymously to the Clarion Ledger on Monday, did so as there hasn’t been an official announcement yet.
Williams, who has already updated her social media profiles to reflect the transition, brings a wealth of experience to Mississippi State, notably from her time with Tennessee. She joined the Lady Vols’ coaching roster in 2021 under the guidance of coach Kellie Harper. During her three-year tenure there, Williams played a significant role in Tennessee’s achievements, including two Sweet 16 appearances prior to this season’s second-round exit. However, following Harper’s departure in April and the subsequent appointment of Kim Caldwell, Williams was not retained.
Williams initiated her coaching journey at St. Louis as an assistant for the 2001-02 season, followed by a stint at Columbus State in 2002-03, before transitioning to the SEC as an assistant at Auburn. Subsequently, she spent time at DePaul from 2004 to 2007, Duke from 2007 to 2011, and Louisville from 2011 to 2019. After departing Louisville, she assumed the role of head coach at Eastern Kentucky from 2019 to 2021 before joining Tennessee.
During her tenure at Louisville, Williams worked alongside Purcell from 2013 to 2022 as assistants under coach Jeff Walz. Purcell, now in his third season as MSU’s coach, has had to revamp his coaching staff this offseason, with all three assistants departing. Corry Irvin took on the head coach position at Chicago State, Gabe Lazo transitioned to an assistant role at Tennessee, and Murriel Page parted ways with the program.
