UVI Introduces New Head Women's Basketball Coach and S.I.D.

ST. THOMAS, VI   The University of the Virgin Islands has formally announced Lynika "Niki" Collins as the Head Women's Basketball Coach and Ja'Shawn Steward-Johnson as the Sports Information Director for the Buccaneers, adding two more full-time hires to the staff.

Collins, hired in July, arrives at UVI after seven years as a coach and four as a student at Southern University at New Orleans. Collins graduated from SUNO in May 2014 and was named the Assistant Women's Basketball Coach of the Knights in July 2014. She was promoted to the role of Head Coach in July 2018, where she served in that capacity until 2020.

"Coach Collins brings a vast amount of experience in the realm of women's college basketball," said Dr. Jerel Drew, the Director of Athletics at UVI. "She understands how to build a championship-caliber program and also, the importance of expanding the UVI Athletic Department. Coach Collins' experience and knowledge of the game will definitely provide a championship culture for our women's basketball program."

In addition to being a women's basketball coach at SUNO, Collins was also the Assistant Athletic Director and an assistant track & field coach from 2016 to 2019 for SUNO. From 2016 to 2018, she was also the Director of Intramural Sports at SUNO. 

In her five seasons combined as an assistant and head coach at SUNO, Collins won two conference titles in women's basketball and an NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championship. Altogether, Collins coached 12 All-Americans in women's basketball and track & field.

"I could not be more excited to continue my coaching career at the University of the Virgin Islands," said Coach Collins. "I have great admiration for coming to work daily with a group of people that have the same passion and drive as I do for sports. I sincerely want to thank Dr. Drew, [Head Men's Basketball Coach Alfonzo] Duncan, and [Administrative Specialist] Mrs. Donna Andrews for trusting that I will be a great successor for the Women's Basketball Program."

Steward-Johnson was hired in June by the Buccaneers after spending three years as the Assistant Sports Information Director at Division-III Methodist University in Fayetteville, N.C. Since he started at Methodist in August 2018, Steward-Johnson had been the secondary contact for the Monarchs' 20 intercollegiate sports, including the women's golf program, the NCAA Division-III champions in 2021. 

"Mr. Steward-Johnson provides a wealth of knowledge in the areas of digital media, design, and development," said Dr. Drew. "His journalistic capability will help enhance our athletic department's reach across the Caribbean and the mainland."

Steward-Johnson served in several roles at Methodist, including social media manager, public address announcer, statistician, official scorer, and game clock operator, among other responsibilities.

"The ability to return to an HBCU is a dream come true," said Steward-Johnson, who is a 2018 graduate of Fayetteville State University. "The HBCU experience is like none other and the opportunity to be able to positively influence and shape the experiences of other students is something I relish. I am excited to take the athletic department to new heights and by extension, the University of the Virgin Islands."