South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets head women’s basketball coach James Frey has been named as the 2023 World Exposure Report Junior College Division I Head Coach of Year.
Frey, who is in his 11th season as the Head Coach of the South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets, led his team to a 33 – 2 record during the 2022 – 2023 season and an Elite Eight finish in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national tournament in Lubbock, Texas.
This was the best overall record ever recorded by the Jets or Lady Jets Division I intercollegiate basketball squads. Over the past 11 years, Frey has amassed 306 wins to only 61 losses. The Lady Jets were ranked as the number one team in the NJCAA Women’s DI poll for five consecutive weeks and entered the NJCAA National Tournament with the top seed.
The Lady Jets captured a 54 – 49 win over Moberly Area Community College in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NJCAA national tournament but then suffered a 71 – 62 loss to the eventual Northwest Florida State squad in the Elite Eight round.
South Georgia Technical College President Dr. John Watford congratulated SGTC Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey on his leadership on and off the court. “This is a tremendous honor for Coach Frey as well as for the women’s basketball program and players at South Georgia Technical College,” said Dr. Watford. “Coach Frey is very deserving of this recognition. He has a tremendous win-loss record as a head coach but he has an even better record of developing and molding these young ladies and preparing them for a career after basketball. He is concerned about the student-athlete and not just focused on the athlete, which is a true testament to an outstanding coach worthy of this honor.”
Frey was named head coach at South Georgia Tech in June 2012. This was his first head coaching position. He had over 20 years of experience as a recruiter and assistant coach at the College of Coastal Georgia prior to joining SGTC.
During his 11 years at the helm of the Lady Jets, Frey has guided the Lady Jets to the national tournament nine times. He has amassed 20-plus wins each season during his tenure at SGTC and has five seasons with 30 or more wins. In his opening season as a head coach, Frey put together a 20 – 12 record and made it to the final four in the NJCAA Region XVII tournament. That is the only year at SGTC that he recorded double-digit losses.
Frey has been named the GCAA Coach of the Year seven times and has won the GCAA Conference seven times. He led his team to the NJCAA Region XVII tournament and the District J or Southwest District championships eight times.
Frey was a finalist for the NJCAA Division I world Exposure’s Women’s Coach of the Year in 2020.