July 6, 2006
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Jen Wedo will return to her roots as she joins the Lafayette women's basketball staff beginning with the 2006-07 season. Following a pair of coaching stints in California and Missouri, the Downingtown, Pa. native will serve as the second assistant on head coach Tammy Smith's staff.
"Jen is a great blend of youth and experience, which makes her an ideal hire for Lafayette," Smith said. "She's enthusiastic and a hard worker. Jen offers proficiency and talent as both a player and a coach that will be a valued addition to our program."
Wedo has been in the coaching ring since graduating from the University of San Diego in 2003 and offers coaching experience on all levels. Most recently, Wedo served as the head coach at William Woods University, a NAIA Division I institution in Fulton, Miss. In her first year, she led the Owls to the America Midwest Conference semi-final game in 2005. In her first and only year there, Wedo coached three all-conference players and four academic all-league honorees.
Prior to her stint at William Woods, Wedo returned to the West Coast coaching a season at the University of California-San Diego. She was the top assistant for the 2004-05 season and served as the interim head coach from April through July of that year. At UCSD, Wedo coordinated all on and off campus recruiting efforts, while designing and conducting all pre-season workouts. She helped the Tritons to a 17-9 record and a 13-7 mark in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Conference.
As an undergraduate, Wedo played four scholarship years at guard for San Diego, helping the Toreros to the 2000 West Coast Conference Championship and an NCAA tournament berth her sophomore year. Wedo later earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology with a minor in sociology.
Wedo jumped into coaching following graduation in 2003, as she began work on her masters and assisted the women's basketball program at East Stroudsburg. While in the Lehigh Valley, Wedo was named the 2004 Women's Basketball Coaches Association/Women's Sports Foundation National Graduate Assistant Coach of the Year. She completed her Master of Science degree in Sport Management from ESU in 2006.
Wedo is scheduled to begin on July 16 and will assist in all aspects of the program, particularly developing Lafayette's guards. In addition, she will be responsible for film breakdown, scouting and recruiting.
The Lafayette women return 12 of 15 letterwinners from a team that went 8-20 in 2005-06. Wedo joins current assistants LaRonda Murphy and Margo Connors for Smith's sixth season at the helm.
