Pederson is new Coastal Carolina women's basketball coach

CONWAY, S.C. (AP) - Coastal Carolina women's basketball program has a new coach at the helm.

The university planned to introduce Kevin Pederson during a news conference on Thursday.

Pederson replaces Jaida Williams, who was fired in March. He becomes the seventh head women's basketball coach in the school's history, the school said Tuesday.

'œThroughout this process, (Pederson's) qualifications, success, and references continued to impress, and his seasoned head coaching experience of nearly 450 wins and 21 seasons certainly stood out. We look forward to getting to work and writing the next chapter of Chanticleer women's basketball,'ť Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics and University Recreation Matt Hogue said in a statement.

Pederson led Lander University for 17 years, from 2005 to 2022, in Greenwood, guiding the Bearcats to a 356-160 overall record and 13 NCAA Division II Championship Tournament appearances, including the last eight straight seasons. Most recently, Pederson directed the Bearcats to a 24-5 overall record, a 15-3 Peach Belt Conference record, and advanced to the 2022 NCAA Division II Championship Regional final.

In addition to serving as Lander's women's head basketball coach, Pederson has served as the associate athletic director since 2016, where he oversaw the entire athletic department budget and individual sports team accounts.

Pederson started his coaching career as an assistant coach for the men's basketball team at Anderson College from 1999 to 2005. He will take over a Coastal Carolina team that went 15-11 overall and 4-9 in Sun Belt Conference play this past season.

CCU's leading scorer and rebounder, Aja Blount, announced this week that she is transferring to Tulane.