RIO GRANDE VALLEY – Jurnee President has worked her way up the ranks as a student-athlete and as a coach, and the next chapter of her career will be as the graduate assistant coach for The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball team.
 
"I'm very thankful to be here. It's been great so far. Everyone has been welcoming and it's a good community," President said. "I feel like, in the position I'm in right now, it's very important that I pay attention to head coach Lane Lord and associate head coach Kevin Hackerott, learn how to run a program, and get out of my comfort zone in order to get where I want to be. I do want to be a head coach one day, and I think this is a great step toward that." 
 
President played five years of college basketball before spending two years playing professionally overseas in Serbia and Armenia. The North Crowley product was a high school McDonald's All-American nominee as a senior in 2017. 
 
Her collegiate career started at New Mexico Junior College, where President helped the team reach the NJCAA Div. I national championship game in 2019. She made 68 starts and averaged 8.53 points, 3.47 rebounds and 2.31 assists per game in her JUCO career. 
 
President went on to play at St. Bonaventure from 2019-21. She averaged 5.60 points, 2.43 rebounds and 1.07 assists per game through 51 contests with the Bonnies and acquired a bachelor's in criminology. President played her fifth year at Tarleton State as a graduate student and earned a Master of Science in kinesiology. She scored 6.7 points per game with 2.0 rebounds and 1.89 assists per game while starting all 29 games in the 2021-22 season. 
 
President scored 1,070 points throughout her collegiate career and played an integral role on each team she was a part of. She made the transition to the sidelines and started her coaching career as an assistant at Ranger College (2023-24) and Westminster University (2024-25). Her vast experience across multiple levels of basketball equips her to aid the Vaqueros in individual development and makes her a valuable resource for the student-athletes. 
 
"Being a really good guard back in her day, she really understands the game. But what really intrigued us about her is she's already coached for a couple of years at the JUCO level and DII level. We thought having a mature GA would really help our program and she's done wonderful since she's been here," Lane said. "She has really taken over a lot of the skill development for some of our players that come in and get extra workouts. Player development is her No. 1 role, and No. 2 is film and scouting. She's really ahead of most graduate assistants. It's like having a fifth coach, which is really nice. We're glad she's here." 
 
President is pursuing a Master of Science in kinesiology with a concentration in physical education at UTRGV. She will assist the Vaqueros coaching staff with individual workouts, practice plans, video coordination, film breakdown through Synergy, and scouting. 
 
She has been around sports her entire life – her father, Andre, was a tight end for the New England Patriots and the Chicago Bears, and she started playing basketball when she was just 5 years old. Competition has taught her many lessons about hard work and dedication, and the coaches who shaped her along the way inspired President to have an influence on other student-athletes. 
 
"The coaches that I had were super amazing. I still talk to my middle school coach to this day. The impact that they had on me influenced me to want to have that impact on other athletes, to motivate them," President said.  

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