USC Aiken announces hire of new women's basketball head coach
Apr. 10—USC Aiken, in conjunction with Director of Athletics Todd Wilkinson, announced Thursday the hiring of Brittany Batts as the head women's basketball coach.
"We are excited to welcome Brittany Batts to USCA as the next head coach of women's basketball," Wilkinson said in a press release. "Coach Batts brings a dynamic blend of leadership, experience, and a relentless commitment to excellence. Her passion for developing student-athletes and her competitive spirit are exactly what this program needs to be a force in the PBC and the Southeast Region. We believe she will build a culture of toughness, unity, and pride that our university and community will rally behind."
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"I am honored and excited to be the head women's basketball coach at USC Aiken. I am grateful to Director of Athletics Todd Wilkinson and Chancellor Heimmermann for believing in my vision and providing me with the responsibility to lead the Pacer women's basketball program," Batts stated. "It is something I will cherish and put my best effort forward with every day.
"I look forward to joining the USCA community and developing relationships with everyone involved in the women's basketball program. We will be relentless in our pursuit to put a product in the classroom, in the community and on the court that our alumni and fans will be proud of. Go Pacers!"
Batts, the 2023-24 WBCA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year at Gannon, comes to USCA with impressive credentials. While working in the PSAC at Gannon and Shepherd, she coached 11 all-league performers. Additionally, she coached the 2023-24 National Player of the Year, Sam Pirosko.
While with the Golden Knights, the program sported a record of 116-22. During the last four seasons, Batts led the program to a pair of Elite Eight appearances (2024-25) and four NCAA Tournaments. During the four years, the program captured two PSAC Tournament Championships (2022, 2024) and two regular-season PSAC-West Championships (2023-24).
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The 2024-25 campaign saw Gannon become the lone program to reach the Elite Eight in back-to-back seasons. The Golden Knights finished No. 11 nationally with a 28-7 record while Batts worked with the post players after primarily coaching the guards during her first three seasons.
In the 2023-24 season, Batts helped guide the team to an impressive 35-3 record, winning both the PSAC and Atlantic Regional Championships, and advancing to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight as the No. 1 seed. Gannon was ranked as high as No. 2 in the WBCA Division II Top 25.
As an assistant coach, Batts focused on the development of the team's guards, contributing to their success both on and off the court. She also played a key role in supporting student-athletes' academic progress and community engagement.
Batts attended the 2025 Next Generation Institute for aspiring head coaches. The program focuses on the CEO attributes needed to lead a program and be a problem solver in the ever-changing landscape of higher education and the enterprise of intercollegiate athletics.
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Batts began her coaching career after completing her playing career in 2015 and has experience at the Division I, Division II and Division III levels.
She spent time as an assistant coach at Division I Chicago State for the 2020-21 campaign. There, Batts assisted with the development of perimeter players. In addition to her recruiting efforts, she assembled scouting reports and enhanced team and player performance through film breakdown.
Prior to that, she was a member of the Shepherd coaching staff from 2018-20. Batts helped Shepherd rebound from an 11-18 record in 2018-19 in the Mountain east to post a 21-9 mark in 2019-20 in its first season of competition in the PSAC.
While finishing with a 14-8 record in the PSAC East in 2019-20, three Rams earned all-PSAC East honors while Abby Beeman was also named PSAC East Freshman of the Year.
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Batts joined the Shepherd program after serving as an assistant coach at Bridgewater College (Va.). She helped lead the Eagles to a 13-13 mark while one student-athlete garnered all-ODAC second team honors for the Eagles.
Before coaching at Bridgewater, Batts served as a graduate assistant at Castleton University (Vt.) from 2015-17. The Spartans posted a 38-21 mark over two seasons.
She was a four-year student-athlete and three-year starter for the Golden Knights from 2011-15, appearing in 125 career games with 92 starts. Batts averaged 9.2 points over her career and finished with 1,152 points, currently good for 20th in career scoring.
Known for her 3-point shooting, she holds the top two season figures for 3-pointers made with 102 in 2012-13 and 93 in 2013-14. She ranks second in career 3-pointers made (286) and attempts (688) and is fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (.416).
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Batts helped lead the Golden Knights to a 102-24 record and four NCAA postseason appearances, including winning the Atlantic Regional in 2013 to earn a berth in the Elite Eight. The 2012-13 Gannon squad finished with a 31-5 record. She was a three-time PSAC scholar-athlete, a second team all-PSAC West Division choice in 2013, and a first-team CoSIDA academic all-district selection at Gannon.
A native of Loudoun County, Va., Batts is Loudoun County High School's all-time leading scorer with 2,039 points. A three-time All-Region and two-time All-State selection for the Raiders, Batts guided the program to a state championship in 2009. In 2022, she was inducted into the Loudon County H.S. Hall of Fame.
Batts graduated from Gannon University with a degree in Sports Management with a minor in Advertising Communication. She earned her Masters in Athletic Leadership from Castleton University in 2017.
USCA will host an introductory press conference for Batts in the Convocation Center Lobby on at 11:30 a.m. on April 17. Fans are welcome to attend.
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