Hattiesburg, Mississippi — William Carey University has appointed Jonina Brinson as the new head coach for its men’s and women’s track and field teams, according to an announcement from Crusader Director of Athletics Tracy English.
Brinson joins Carey after serving as an assistant coach at Eastern Washington University since 2021. She has also competed collegiately at the University of Mobile and Bethune-Cookman University, earning multiple all-American honors and setting school records in the long jump.
While at Mobile, Brinson was a 10-time NAIA All-American and a two-time NAIA national champion in the long jump. She was named SSAC Track Athlete of the Year in 2016 and SSAC Track and Field Athlete of the Year in 2017. Brinson also set 11 school records at Mobile in indoor and outdoor events.
At Bethune-Cookman, she was named the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference Field Athlete of the Year and qualified for NCAA nationals. After her athletic career, Brinson worked as a graduate assistant at Bethune-Cookman before coaching at Buena Vista University in Iowa, where she served as an assistant and later as head coach.
During her tenure at Buena Vista, Brinson led the women’s outdoor team to its highest point total at the American Rivers Conference Championships since 2013 and coached multiple all-conference and All-American athletes. She also coached 17 men and 22 women to top ten all-time performances at BVU.
Brinson joined Eastern Washington as an assistant coach in October 2021, coaching five conference champions and over 14 top-ten finishers. She expressed enthusiasm for her new role at William Carey, noting her past experience in the SSAC and her desire to lead the program to continued success.
William Carey’s previous head coach, Ryan McKenzie, left for Alcorn State University after more than a decade, during which he helped establish the program as a national contender. Brinson said she looks forward to continuing that tradition and building on McKenzie’s foundation.
English praised Brinson’s background and leadership potential, emphasizing her experience as both an athlete and coach. Brinson said she is excited to join the Carey community and to help the program compete for conference and national titles.
