D'Nay Daniels begins her first season as the assistant coach for Delaware State women’s basketball team, having joined the staff in July 2021. A 1,000-point scorer during her playing career at UCF, she specializes in the development of the Hornets’ post players.
Daniels most recently served as an assistant coach of Northeastern University for two years. Daniels played a key role in developing All CAA second team and All – Defensive Team forward, Alexis Hill. Prior to Northeastern, Daniels was a graduate assistant at the University of Memphis from 2017- 2019 and graduated with her masters in Sport Commerce.
While pursuing her master’s degree at Memphis, she worked closely with the team’s director of basketball operations. Among her primary responsibilities, she led and directed Melissa McFerrin’s Hoop School Summer Camps, managed gameday logistics and helped organize day-to-day operations. At practices, Daniels facilitated court drills and workouts for the team’s post players, weighing on weekly scouting reports. Prior to her two seasons at Memphis, Daniels was the three-year head coach of the varsity girls’ basketball team at Freedom High School (Orlando, Florida). There, she placed the Patriots onto a winning trajectory, doubling the team’s win total each season while maintaining 100-percent graduation and eligibility rates. While directing player development, Daniels helped mentor the Metro Conference Player of the Year as well as an NCAA Division I signee. Daniels’s coaching career took root during 2011 when she became the director of operations at Learning At Its Best (L.A.B.) Sports in Winter Springs, Florida. Lending a helping hand to the community, she managed basketball camps and events for youth from ages 8 to 18, teaching game and team strategies. Daniels has also served as the assistant girls’ varsity head coach and head junior varsity coach at Winter Park High School (Winter Park, Florida) as well as the assistant girls’ varsity head coach at The Geneva School (Winter Park, Florida), coaching alongside Penn State assistant, Sarah Jenkins. A four-year starter and letter winner at UCF, Daniels co-led the Knights to two NCAA tournament appearances courtesy of their 2009 and 2011 Conference USA titles. Playing alongside assistant Coach Angelica Mealing, the two-time recipient of the team’s Most Valuable Player award (2010, 2011) earned All-Conference USA Second Team honors during her senior campaign in addition to garnering a
spot on the 2011 Conference USA All-Tournament Team. Daniels graduated from UCF in May 2011 with her bachelor's degree in interpersonal communication.
A native of Atlanta, Ga., Daniels attended Greater Atlanta Christian School and helped lead her team to the Georgia Class AA Championship in 2006 and 2007. She was nominated for the McDonald’s All-American Team and averaged 16 points and seven rebounds as a senior. Daniels was also selected as the Georgia Class 2A Player of the Year as a junior.
