Lady Jets head coach Jason Carpenter honored as NJCAA Region XVII Coach of Year Lady Jets head coach Jason Carpenter honored as NJCAA Region XVII Coach of Year

asper, Wyoming – South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach Jason Carpenter was honored as the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XVII Coach of the Year prior to his team’s first game in the NJCAA National Tournament at the Ford Center in Casper, Wyoming.

Carpenter was presented with the NJCAA Region XVII Coach of the Year plaque just minutes before the 22nd ranked Lady Jets took to the court to face the 2024 defending NJCAA National Champion Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons from Hutchinson, Kansas.

Carpenter, in only his second season as the head coach of the Lady Jets, led his team to a 25 – 7 record and the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) regular season title and the GCAA/NJCAA Region XVII Tournament Championship with an impressive win over East Georgia State College in the tournament finals. They advanced to the NJCAA national tournament but lost a 61 – 58 hard fought decision in the first round.

Jason Carpenter is only the third head coach in the 20-year history of Lady Jets basketball and he is the third coach to lead the Lady Jets to the National Tournament. Brandon Harrell, who was the first Lady Jets head coach, led his team to their first national tournament appearance in 2010. That was his team’s only trip in eight years of play.

James Frey took over the reigns as head coach for the Lady Jets in 2012-2013. He was able to guide the Lady Jets to the national tournament in his second season and then took them back eight more times in his 11-years at the helm. His team’s qualified for the national tournament in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. The Lady Jets had two Elite Eight and two Sweet Sixteen finishes in those nine years.

Current SGTC head coach Jason Carpenter has matched Frey’s start by taking the Lady Jets to the national tournament in only his second season at the helm. Both Frey and Carpenter lost in the first round in their initial trip to the national tournament.

Carpenter has compiled a 46 – 18 overall record in two seasons. He took over the reigns as head coach in August of 2023. He inherited a team with only three non-starting returners but still managed to finish with a 21 -11 record. They advanced to the semi-final round of the NJCAA Region XVII tournament that season before losing to Central Georgia Technical College.

In his first full-season of recruiting, Carpenter came back and amassed a 25 – 7 record. Two of those losses were to top-ranked Chipola College. His only conference loss in 2025 was to East Georgia State College.

Carpenter’s 2024 – 2025 team had the GCAA Player of the Year and the GCAA Freshman of the Year in Jamiah Gregory. For the first time ever, his team also had four players named to the GCAA All-Region first team. Those players included: Gregory, sophomores Enola Papin and Mio Sakano, and freshman Stephanie Salumu, who also was the Co-Defensive Player of the Year.

The Lady Jets went into the national tournament with a 22nd ranking and faced the defending national champion Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons in the opening round. Hutchinson received an at-large bid to the tournament after they lost 45 – 42 to Coffeyville Community College in their conference semi-final. Dodge City, KS, won the NJCAA Region 6 (Plains) tournament and received a bye in the first round of the national tournament.

In addition to being the 2024 defending national champions, Hutchinson Community College was returning to the same court where they won the championship with several returning players including the Kansas Player of the Year. Hutchinson had been to the national tournament 12 times.

Even though the Lady Jets lost that first round match-up to Hutchinson in a very hard fought 61 – 58 decision that went down to the buzzer, Hutchinson had to work for the win. The Lady Jets led most of the game but fell behind by 13-points in the last four and a half minutes of the game. They held the Blue Dragons to only four points in the final four and a half minutes to close the gap to three points by the final buzzer.

This was called the best and definitely closest game of the first round of the 2025 NJCAA National Tournament and the Lady Jets and head coach Jason Carpenter earned the respect of the fans, coaches, and players participating in the tournament with their aggressive defense and strong offensive efforts.

The Jets – Blue Dragon game was decided by three points where as the other first round games ended with score margins from eight to 36 points. In the second round, 15th ranked Casper College lost to 2nd-ranked Wabash Valley in an 88 – 80 decision, which was the second closest game of the tournament.

“I am proud of what this team has accomplished and honored to represent South Georgia Technical College and the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association at the national tournament,” said Carpenter. “I am also humbled by all of the sacrifices and hard work by our players to get us here. I am also appreciative of the support we have received from South Georgia Tech and the community.”

He also revealed that he knew the legacy of the SGTC women’s basketball program when he took over the reign as head coach. “When I took this position, I understood the winning history and the legacy I was assuming. I was disappointed we didn’t win the championship last year. I have always set championship expectations for myself and my teams. There were times last season and even stretches this season, when I felt like we were miles away from making a championship run a reality. Ultimately the speed at which it all happened is a testament to the young ladies who returned from last season and the freshmen who trusted and bought in to the SGTC culture and vision.”

Carpenter thanked his players for their hard work and dedication. “This season is an important building block in my plan to take SGTC women’s basketball to new heights. This team features the freshman AND player of the year in Jamiah Gregory, freshman Co-Defensive player of year Stephie Salumu, our second leading scorer in conference and GCAA Conference tournament All-tourney selection freshman Kaiya Carter, and an emerging 6’4 center in freshman Mariia Ignatchenko. In my opinion, the future is very bright.”