Jessica Simmonds was named an assistant women’s basketball coach at Fordham in May of 2026.
Simmonds arrived at Rose Hill after serving as the Associate head women’s basketball coach/recruiting coordinator at FDU from 2023-2026. She helped the Knights to back-to-back Northeast Conference (NEC) titles and NCAA Championship appearances in 2025 and 2026. The 2024-25 team recorded a then program record 29 wins which was bettered the next year when the Knights won 30 games. Over those two seasons, FDU went undefeated in NEC play and multiple student-athletes earned NEC All-Conference honors, including back-to-back Defensive Players of the Year (2024, 2025).
Simmonds led all recruiting efforts at FDU, identifying and securing high-level Division I talent, and managed all recruiting compliance responsibilities and recruiting database systems. She also oversaw recruiting and operational budgets and coordinated non-conference scheduling.
The 2023-2026 stint was the second of Simmonds at FDU. She was also an assistant coach for the Knights from 2019-2022 and was part of the 2021-22 NEC Regular Season Championship team which played in the 2022 WNIT, FDU’s first appearance in the postseason tournament. Simmonds coached several All-NEC selections, including the 2022 NEC Player of the Year.
In between stretches at FDU, Simmonds served as an assistant women's basketball coach/recruiting coordinator at VCU in 2022-2023. She planned workouts for post players, assisted with scouting and walkthroughs/practices, and provided academic support for student-athletes.
Prior to her first position at FDU, Simmonds was an assistant coach at Siena from 2016-2019 where she coached one First Team All-MAAC and one Second Team All-MAAC player in first season and developed two Second Team All-MAAC selections in second season.
Simmonds has also served as an assistant coach at Passaic County Community College (2015-2016), Chesapeake College (2013-2014) and Hampton University (2011-2012).
A graduate of George Washington University with a degree in Criminal Justice, Simmonds was a First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection as a senior and earned Second Team accolades as a junior. She was also a Street & Smith Honorable Mention All-America candidate as a senior. The Revolutionaries won A-10 championships from 2003-06 with Simmonds on the squad and advanced to the NCAA Second Round in 2005 and 2006.
Simmonds started her collegiate career at Providence College where she was named to the BIG EAST All-Rookie team as a freshman.
Following graduation, Simmonds was a member of the Jamaican National Basketball Team as a Pre-Olympic Qualifier, playing against the U.S., Cuba, Mexico and Argentina, and also played professionally in Greece, Latvia and Turkey.
