Jen Hoover enters her 11th season at the helm of the Wake Forest women's basketball program in 2022-23. She was named the school's 10th coach in program history in May of 2012. Hoover came to Wake Forest after one season as the head women's basketball coach at High Point.
She is Wake Forest's all-time wins leader, achieving the milestone during the 2020-21 season with her 126th victory as the Demon Deacons' head coach in an ACC Second Round victory over rival North Carolina. In her time as head coach, she has led Wake Forest to the four postseason appearances including a berth in the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament, earning a No. 9 seed. Additionally, Wake Forest goes into the 2022-23 season as one of just eight ACC programs to be postseason eligible the last three seasons.
Under her tutelage, the Demon Deacons have had back-to-back First Team All-ACC selections (Ivana Raca - 2021; Jewel Spear - 2022). Also, she has developed five 1,000-point scorers during her time at Wake Forest.
Hoover returned to Wake Forest to lead the program after starring for the Demon Deacons from 1987-91. She was a three-time All-ACC selection and is second on the school's career record charts for points (1,728) and rebounds (1,006). Hoover was a member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll and a member of the South team that won the bronze medal at the 1989 Olympic Festival in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She also led the Deacs to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1988. Hoover was inducted to the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002.
2021-22 - WNIT
For the third consecutive season, Wake Forest was postseason eligible for the third consecutive season. The Deacs are one of just eight ACC schools to be able to make that claim over the same period.
With a first round win over Akron, the Demon Deacons have now advanced to the second round of the WNIT for the sixth time in seven appearances including in all three appearances under Hoover.
The Demon Deacons advanced in the ACC Tournament for the third consecutive year, defeating Virginia in the opening round of the tournament. The Demon Deacons moved to 4-3 in the last three ACC Tournaments appearances, nearly defeating No. 25 Georgia Tech in the second round, 45-40.
During non-conference play, the Demon Deacons defeated three reigning conference champions in Mercer (SoCon), High Point (Big South) and Troy (Sun Belt) with the wins over Mercer and High Point both coming on the road.
For the third time in the last eight seasons, Hoover coached the ACC's leading scorer as guard Jewel Spear finished the year with 18.3 points per game. Spear, a First Teamm All-ACC selection, is the first sophomore leading scorer in the conference since the 2011-12 season and just the third in the last 20 years. Additionally, her 90 three pointers ranked second in the ACC and is the second most in single-season program history.
Spear had one of the greatest performances in program history against ETSU on Dec. 13, netting 40 points, the second best mark in school history while also breaking the program record with 10 three-point makes.
2020-21 - NCAA Tournament
The ninth season at Wake Forest for Hoover issued in a return to the national stage as she led the Demon Deacons to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1987-88 and just the second time in program history. Hoover and the Deacs played one of the most challenging schedules in the country. In the first year of the NET, Wake Forest recorded six victories over top-50 NET ranked teams while also playing having the No. 2 average opponent NET ranking in the nation. It helped the Demon Deacons earn a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
In the midst of the postseason push, Hoover became the program's all-time wins leader with win No. 126th win in her tenure at her alumna mater. In the second round, the Deacs eliminated North Carolina from the ACC Tournament for the second consecutive season with an 82-71 victory. Over the last two seasons, Wake Forest is 4-1 against the Tar Heels.
The Deacs reached the ACC Tournament quarterfinals for the second consecutive season, marking the first time the Demon Deacons have accomplished this feat in back-to-back seasons since 2012 and 2013.
Three Demon Deacons earned All-ACC honors with Ivana Raca named to the First Team, Gina Conti to the Second Team and Jewel Spear to the All-Freshman Team. It is just the third time in program history the Demon Deacons have had multiple players selected to the top two All-ACC teams and is just the second time three members of the squad were honored in the same season by the league.
Ivana Raca ended her illustrious Wake Forest career ninth on the all-time scoring list with 1,482 points. She was one of just four players to finish her career in the top 10 in scoring and rebounding. Raca ended her four seasons with 715 rebounds, 10th in Demon Deacon history.
She went on to be taken in the 2021 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks, becoming the second player in the Hoover era to be taken in the annual draft.
Equally as impressive, Hoover helped guide Gina Conti to the second spot on Wake Forest's all-time assist list with 494 in her career. She also became the 29th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point barrier during her senior campaign.
Additionally, a program record four student-athletes were named to Academic All-ACC Team: Jewel Spear earned her first Academic All-ACC honors this season while Ivana Raca, Gina Conti and Christina Morra were honored for the second time in their career.
2019-20
During the 2019-20 season, the Demon Deacons got off to one of the best starts in ACC play with a 3-1 start to conference play, the fastest start since the 1987-88 season. Wake went on to earn seven victories in ACC play, the most in the Hoover era. This included key victories over in-state foes Duke and North Carolina.
The Deacs seemed destined for postseason play after an impressive run in the ACC Tournament. Wake Forest defeated North Carolina for the second time in season in the opening round while knocking off Virginia Tech in the second round to reach the ACC Tournament Quarterfinal.
After earning second team All-ACC honors at the end of the regular season, junior Ivana Raca was even better in the tournament, averaging 20.33 points per game en route to first team All-ACC Tournament honors.
During the season, Alex Sharp and Raca became the 27th and 28th members of the 1,000-point club. Sharp rose to third in program history with 921 career rebounds and Gina Conti sat seventh with 379 career assists.
2018-19
Wake Forest started the 2018-19 season with a stellar 9-4 record in the non-conference portion of the schedule. The Demon Deacons would face a number of critical injuries, including the loss of leading scorers Elisa Penna and Alex Sharp who each played just 15 games. However, their absence allowed the accelerated development of a number of younger players who shined in 2019-20.
2017-18
In the 2017-18 season, the Deacs advanced to the second round of the ACC Tournament for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons. In the opening round victory over Pittsburgh, Hoover's Demon Deacons held the Panthers to just 38 points, the fewest points allowed in ACC Tournament and Wake Forest postseason history. The team's 34-point margin of victory is a Wake Forest postseason record and the second-largest margin of victory over an ACC foe in program history. During the season, the team had three active 1,000 point scorers in Amber Campbell, Elisa Penna and Ariel Stephenson. Penna and Stephenson reached the 1,000-point mark during the season, marking the first time in program history that the team had three 1,000-point scorers on its roster. Penna was named All-ACC Second Team at the end of the year while Campbell was named to the All-Defensive Team, the first All-Defensive honoree for the Deacs since 2004.
2016-17 - WNIT
Hoover guided the Demon Deacons to the postseason for the second consecutive season in 2017, as Wake Forest advanced to the second round of the WNIT. The postseason berth marked just the second time in program history in which the team advanced to postseason play in back-to-back seasons. Hoover led the Deacs to a road victory over No. 15/18 NC State on Feb. 19, the first road win over a ranked opponent since the 2012 season. Additionally, the Demon Deacons earned their highest ACC Tournament seed (No. 9) since 2012 while Alex Sharp was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team.
2015-16 - WNIT
Under Hoover's guidance, the Demon Deacons have continued their successful run in ACC Tournament play. In 2015-16, Wake Forest won an ACC Tournament game for the eighth-straight year, the longest stream in the ACC at the time. The Deacs won one game in 2016 and earned two victories as the No. 13 seed in the 2015 ACC Tournament, marking just the second time in program history Wake Forest had two wins in the league championship.
In 2015-16, Hoover helped guide the Demon Deacons to new heights as they won 17 games overall and six ACC regular-season contests. Both totals are highest since Hoover took over as head coach in 2012 and the six ACC victories tie for the third-most in a single season in program history. Wake Forest finished 10th in the ACC after being picked 14th in the preseason polls by both the Blue Ribbon Panel and the ACC's Head Coaches.
At season's end, Wake Forest earned its first postseason tournament berth since the 2011-12 campaign in earning an at-large bid to the WNIT. The Demon Deacons went on the road to top Charlotte in the first round before being eliminated by Florida Gulf Coast in the second round.
2014-15
Hoover had the rare opportunity to coach a player that broke her own program records. In 2014-15, Dearica Hamby broke her coach's records for career points and rebounds. Hamby went on to become the first Demon Deacon to ever be selected in the WNBA Draft when she was taken sixth overall by the San Antonio Stars.
2012-14
In Hoover's first two seasons leading the program, Wake Forest went 13-19 in year No. 1 in 2012-13, but she did guide the Deacs to an upset road victory over No. 18 Florida State. The win marked the school's first victory on the road over a ranked team since 1996. In 2013-14, the Deacs finished with an overall record of 15-16 with five ACC wins, including another victory over a ranked Florida State team. This time, the Deacs knocked off No. 23 FSU in Winston-Salem in convincing fashion, beating the Seminoles 78-54.
Prior to Wake Forest
Prior to coming back to Wake Forest, Hoover guided High Point to a 20-13 record in her one season with the Panthers and led the team to a WNIT appearance. The 20 wins tied for the most in a single season since High Point moved to Division I in 1999. Hoover was named the 2012 Spalding Maggie Dixion Division I Rookie Coach of the Year after the season.
Hoover's assistant coaching career began in 1994 and included stints at California, Virginia, Memphis, James Madison, East Carolina, VCU and Missouri-Kansas City.
In three seasons as an assistant at California, from 2008-11, she helped the Golden Bears to a cumulative 69-36 record while Cal went to the program's first-ever Sweet 16 in 2009 and won the 2010 WNIT Championship. A post player herself during her playing days, Hoover has an impressive reputation for developing forwards at the highest level. Hoover was named one of the ACC's top-50 all-time players and is still one of only two Demon Deacons to surpass 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. Among the post players Hoover coached at Cal were All-Americans Ashley Walker and Devanei Hampton as well as All-Freshman selections DeNesha Stallworth and Gennifer Brandon. At Cal, Hoover worked with all aspects of the program, including on-court coaching, recruiting and scouting and helped the Golden Bears to postseason appearances in all three of her seasons. She helped bring in back-to-back top 10 recruiting classes, including the No. 1 class in 2009.
Hoover went to Berkeley after spending the 2007-08 season as the associate head coach at Memphis and helped the Tigers make significant improvements in her one season. After her first stint as an assistant coach at Memphis in 2002-03, Hoover spent four seasons at the University of Virginia and became the Cavaliers' recruiting coordinator for her final two years. She helped sign top-15 recruiting classes in 2005 and 2006 and helped the team to two 20-win seasons, an NCAA appearance and two WNIT berths. She helped Virginia ink junior college All-American center Aisha Mohammed and the 2006-07 ACC Rookie of the Year, Monica Wright. Wright also was a McDonald's All-American. While at Virginia, Hoover coached under Hall of Famer Debbie Ryan.
Hoover started her coaching career at the University of Missouri-Kansas City from 1994-96, then became an assistant at Virginia Commonwealth for two seasons (1996-98). She then spent two seasons at East Carolina (1998-00) before moving on to James Madison (2000-02), where she helped the Dukes to the WNIT Final Four. Hoover then made her first stop at Memphis in 2002-03, where she recruited and coached the Lady Tigers' post players. She also oversaw academics and the mentor program until she left in August of 2003 to join Ryan's staff at Virginia.
As a player, Hoover played professionally overseas following her Wake Forest career for Solna IF Basketball Team in Stockholm, Sweden, from 1991-92. She played the 1993 season with Athletes in Action on the USA Fall Exhibition Tour and the Australian spring tour before starting her coaching career.
Hoover married her husband, John, in 2001 and the two have one daughter, Maggie.
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The Jen Hoover File
|
| Birthdate |
October 12, 1969 |
| Hometown |
Roanoke, Virginia |
| Alma Mater |
Wake Forest, `91 |
| Degree |
Communication |
| Spouse |
John (Married 2001) |
| Children |
Daughter, Maggie |
| Coaching Career (at WF) |
Became Wake Forest's all-time wins leader during the 2020-21 season with her 126th victory as the Demon Deacons' head coach ... Led Wake Forest to the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament, earning a No. 9 seed ... One of just eight ACC programs to be postseason eligible the last three seasons |
Playing Career
(at WF) |
Three-time All-ACC performer ... Second on the school's career scoring (1,728) and rebounding (1,006) lists ... Was part of 70 wins in her career, which is the second-most in school history ... Led the team to the school's first NCAA Tournament appearance
in 1988. |
|
Jen Hoover Coaching Records
|
| All-Time Record |
162-183 (.469), 62-124 (.333) |
| 2011-12 |
20-13 (.606), 13-5 Big South (2nd) |
| High Point Totals |
20-13 (.606), 13-5 Big South (.722) |
| 2012-13 |
13-19 (.406), 5-13 ACC (T-9th) |
| 2013-14 |
15-16 (.484), 5-11 ACC (11th) |
| 2014-15 |
13-20 (.394), 2-14 ACC (13th) |
| 2015-16 |
17-16 (.515), 6-10 ACC (10th) |
| 2016-17 |
16-16 (.500), 6-10 ACC (9th) |
| 2017-18 |
14-17 (.452), 5-11 ACC (11th) |
| 2018-19 |
10-20 (.333), 1-15 ACC (15th) |
| 2019-20 |
16-16 (.500), 7-11 ACC (T-11th) |
| 2020-21 |
12-13 (.480), 8-10 ACC (T-9th) |
| 2021-22 |
16-17 (.485), 4-14 AC (T-11th) |
| Wake Forest Totals |
142-172 (.452), 49-119 ACC (.292) |
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Coaching History
|
2012-Pres.
(11 seasons) |
Head Coach, Wake Forest |
| 2011-12 (1 season) |
Head Coach, High Point |
| 2008-11 (3 seasons) |
Assistant Coach, California |
| 2007-08 (1 season) |
Associate Head Coach, Memphis |
| 2004-07 (3 seasons) |
Assistant Coach, Virginia |
| 2003-04 (1 season) |
Director of Operations, Virginia |
| 2002-03 (1 season) |
Assistant Coach, Memphis |
| 2000-02 (2 seasons) |
Assistant Coach, James Madison |
| 1998-00 (2 seasons) |
Assistant Coach, East Carolina |
| 1996-98 (2 seasons) |
Assistant Coach, Virginia Commonwealth (VCU) |
| 1994-96 (2 seasons) |
Assistant Coach, Missouri-Kansas City |
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