SAN ANTONIO – Former Texas standouts Jamie Carey and Empress Davenport join the UTSA women's basketball staff, head coach Karen Aston announced on Friday.
Carey will serve as the associate head coach and Davenport as the recruiting coordinator.
Jamie Carey
Carey comes to Military City USA after spending the 2020-21 season at conference foe North Texas in the same position.
"I am so happy and thankful to be working alongside Jamie again," Aston said. "She is such a tremendous coach, with an unbelievable mind for the game. Jamie has played and coached at the highest level and is a willing 'sharer' of her passion for basketball. She commands, and gives respect. During our time coaching together, I watched her blossom into a phenomenal mentor and leader of young women. Her commitment to excellence and to the development of young women matches the vision of myself and the athletics program. Our team and specifically, our guards, will get better the second Jamie steps on the court with them."
Prior to her short stint in Denton, Carey spent four years on the coaching staff of her alma mater, Texas, under Aston from 2014-20. She was an assistant coach from 2016-18 before being promoted to associate head coach for the final two years.
"I could not be more excited to join Dr. Campos, Coach Aston and the entire Roadrunner family on staff," Carey said. "This is an opportunity I'm most appreciative of and can't wait to get to campus, meet the team, and get to work!"
At Texas, Carey's was responsible for instructing players at the guard position, coordinating the team's offensive schemes and coordinating the team's recruiting efforts. During her time in Austin, the Longhorns complied as 95-37 (.720) record for an average of 24 wins per season. Texas earned three NCAA Tournament appearances and advanced to a pair of NCAA Sweet 16s. The Longhorns won 53 Big 12 Conference games during that stretch with two second-place finishes in league standings.
Before joining the staff at her alma mater, Carey served as an assistant coach at Colorado from 2014-16.
Carey has top-caliber experience at every level of basketball, including four years at USA Basketball as the assistant women's national team director. She worked with all levels of the women's team program, helping to identify coaches and athletes for participation. Carey also assisted with organizing logistics for trials, training camps and international competitions, supported the athletes and staff on-site internally and assisted with practice for all national teams.
While working with USA Basketball, Carey was the head coach at Sand Creek High School in Colorado Springs, from 2011-14, leading the program to a 62-17 overall record, three Colorado Class 4A Great 8 State appearances and a pair of Pikes Peak Athletic Conference titles. She was named the 2014 Pikes Peak Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
Prior to Sand Creek, Carey served as head coach at Legacy High School in Broomfield, Colo., from 2008-10, leading the team to a Colorado Class 5A runner-up finish in 2010.
Cary ranks 43rd in Texas history with 1,074 career points, where she was a two-time All-Big-12 selection and set the program standard for 3-point field goal percentage (.418). She was the 31st pick in the 2005 WNBA Draft and played four years with the Connecticut Sun.
She was named the 1999 Miss Colorado Basketball and was the 2000 Pac-10 Conference Freshman of the Year at Stanford, before transferring to finish her career at Texas. She was the 2004 recipient of the Jim Valvano Comeback Player of the Year Award.
Carey holds a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Texas in 2004 and completed her master's of education in sport management at UT in 2006.
Empress Davenport
Davenport joins the Roadrunner staff after spending the last three years at Lamar.
"I have always had the utmost respect for coaches who bring in their form are players to coach but Karen is on another level," Davenport said. :She has a vision and is ready to hit the ground running. I'm extremely excited about the process. Not only will it be good for the student athletes, but everyone involved will have the opportunity to grow in ways unimaginable. I am thankful for the opportunity and grateful that Karen trust me enough to want me to be apart of her staff. I can't wait to see what the future holds for this program!"
Davenport recently completed her third year as an assistant coach at Lamar, where she worked with a pair of head coaches, including Robin Harmony (2018-19) and Aqua Franklin (2019-21).
"I have always had the utmost respect for coaches who bring in former players to coach and Karen is just on another level," Davenport said. "She has a vision and is ready to hit the ground running. I'm ready for the process and I think it will be good for not only the girls, but for everyone to grow. I'm more than excited about the opportunity and grateful for Karen to trust me in this role. I can't wait to see what the future holds!"
Davenport helped Lamar to a historic 2018-19 season, with the Cardinals going 17-1 in the Southland and 24-7 overall. Six players earned all-conference honors under Davenport, with Miya Crump earning Southland Freshman of the Year honors and Chastadie Barrs claiming a pair of defensive player of the year accolades.
She was a four-year standout for the Longhorns, averaging nearly eight points, four rebounds and better than two assists per game during her collegiate career.
The Horns advanced to three NCAA Championships during Davenport's time on campus and recorded three 20-win seasons, including 31 wins in 2015-16. Davenport was a huge part in the Horns' 10-game turnaround as a sophomore.
Following her time in Austin, Davenport signed a contract with Alvik Basket, a professional team in Sweden. During her one season with Alvik, Davenport was the starting point guard where she guided her squad to the semifinals.
After a professional career overseas, Davenport returned to the U.S. to serve as an assistant coach with the Nike ProSkills EYBL. During her two years with EYBL, she conducted drills that helped improve athlete stamina, skills and performance. In addition to her work with EYBL, Davenport also served as a trainer for Full Throttle Basketball, where she created fitness plans for clients.
Davenport graduated from Texas with a bachelor's degree in applied learning and development in May 2016.
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