On June 9, 2023, Pierre Curtis was named Furman’s new women’s head basketball coach by
Jason Donnelly, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics.
Curtis, entering his fourth season in charge of Paladin women’s basketball and 14th year with the program, served as an assistant coach over his first six years before being elevated to associate head coach in 2019 under former head coach Jackie Carson.
He is the eighth head coach in program history that now spans 52 seasons.
In his first three seasons as the program’s mentor Curtis has validated the confidence placed in him by keeping the Paladins competitve while adding to the program’s talent pool for sustained, long-term success.
Five Paladins have earned All-Southern Conference honors in Curtis’ first three seasons — forwards Kate Johnson (2024) and Clare Coyle (2026), and guards Niveya Henley (2024), Tate Walters (2025), and Alyssa Ervin (2026).
A year ago Curtis directed Furman to an 18-13 campaign that included a 9-5 SoCon mark. A big part of the success was a 6-1 road conference record — the best SoCon road mark in program history (1984-present).
The road warrior ethos and return of four starters this year were no doubt on the minds of SoCon head coaches when they selected Furman as the league’s preseason favorite — the first such tab for a Paladin squad in 25 years.
Curtis’ position to lead the program was made possible by his involvement in all aspects of the program for over a decade, most notably in recruiting, where he has played a key role in signing and helping develop 21 All-Southern Conference performers, including at least one selection every year.
The most heralded player Curtis recruited and helped develop was consensus SoCon Player of the Year forward Tierra Hodges, who paced the league in scoring and rebounding while keying the Paladins to 20 wins during the 2021-22 campaign. Others signed to Furman and/or developed on the court with Curtis’
help include two-time All-SoCon forward Brittany Hodges, two-time all-league forward Holli Wilkins, three-time all-conference guard and all-time assist leader Whitney Bunn, and career 3-point field goal shooting leader Le’Jzae Davidson.
Furman has made five post-season tournament appearances with Curtis on staff, including two trips to the WNIT, and also played in a pair of SoCon Tournament championship games.
Prior to being tabbed as Furman head coach he was among 21 assistant coaches selected to participate in the inaugural class of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Next Generation Institute, a high-level education program for experienced assistant coaches who aspire to become head coaches at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels.
A 2010 graduate of James Madison University where he starred as a player for the Dukes, Curtis coached women’s basketball at Harrisonburg (Va.) High School for two seasons prior to coming to Furman, helping direct his squad to a pair of region playoff appearances.
He played professionally in Germany during the 2010-11 season before beginning his coaching career. He also racked up extensive summer camp experience with numerous colleges and worked with the prestigious Boo Williams AAU organization.
A Chicago, Ill., native who spent many of his teenage years in Denver, Colo., he was a two-year starter at Denver East High School, where he keyed his squad to a state championship and No. 12 national ranking his junior year.
He earned all-state and Denver Player of the Year honors as a senior before enrolling at Charis Prep School in Goldsboro, N.C., where he averaged 22.0 points and 8.0 rebounds while pacing his squad to a No. 14 national ranking.
Curtis signed with James Madison and went on to register 1,237 points and complete his career as the Dukes’ all-time leader in starts, assists, and steals.
Holder of a bachelor’s degree in sports management from JMU, he has a daughter, Sydney.
