Lou Hamilton is a Greenville, South Carolina native and a former three-sport athlete at Carolina High School. He began his own college athletic career as a football player at Charleston Southern before transferring to Fayetteville State University, where he completed his degree in Business Administration.
Hamilton entered Division I women's basketball coaching in 2010 at North Carolina A&T, beginning a career that has included North Carolina A&T, Grambling State, Delaware State, Norfolk State and Shaw University. In 2026, Delaware State announced his return to the Hornets as an assistant coach.
North Carolina A&T — 2010–2012
Hamilton served as a practice/recruiting coordinator and assistant coach, working primarily with post players.
Players associated with his recruiting/development work included:
- Eboni Ross — MEAC Rookie of the Year
- JaQuayla Scott — First Team All-MEAC
- Jalessa Sams — Second Team All-MEAC
- Mikala Scott — MEAC All-Rookie Team
Grambling State — 2012–2014
Hamilton followed Patricia Cage-Bibbs to Grambling State, serving as an assistant/recruiting coordinator before becoming interim head coach in 2013–14.
Under his interim leadership, Grambling improved from ninth to seventh in the SWAC standings, finished 11–20 overall and 7–11 in conference play, and won a first-round SWAC Tournament game.
One of his notable player-development successes was:
- Joanna Miller — First Team All-SWAC
- All-SWAC Tournament Team
- SWAC Newcomer of the Year
Hamilton also helped Grambling sign Parade All-American prospects Dennisha Chambers and Ahlisha Henderson.
Delaware State — 2014–2015
Hamilton joined Delaware State as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator, with responsibility for developing the frontcourt.
Two particularly notable players were:
Tierra Hawkins
- First Team All-MEAC
- 16.1 points per game
- Sixth in the MEAC in scoring
Amber Bogard
That season, Delaware State led the MEAC in field-goal percentage.
Norfolk State — 2015–2021
This became another significant chapter in Hamilton's career. He worked primarily with post players and recruiting.
Some of the accomplishments during his tenure included:
- Norfolk State's 12-win improvement in 2016–17, described by the school as the largest single-season turnaround in program history.
- Kayla Roberts developed into a First Team All-MEAC player and later earned BOXTOROW Division I Second Team All-American recognition.
- Roberts averaged 14.2 points and 7.9 rebounds in 2017–18.
- Khadedra Croker became the school's all-time blocks leader.
- Norfolk State reached the 2019 MEAC Championship game, its first appearance in 14 years.
- The Spartans finished 19–11 in 2019–20, at that time the second-most wins in the program's Division I history.
MEAC honors
- MEAC Rookie of the Year
- First Team All-MEAC
- Second Team All-MEAC
- MEAC All-Rookie Team
SWAC honors
- SWAC Newcomer of the Year
- First Team All-SWAC
- All-SWAC Tournament Team
National recognition
- BOXTOROW Division I Second Team All-American
Shaw University
Hamilton later joined Shaw University, initially as an associate head coach and subsequently serving as interim head coach for the 2025–26 season. Shaw described him as bringing extensive Division I HBCU experience from Norfolk State, Grambling State, Delaware State and North Carolina A&T.
Back to Delaware State
In June 2026, Delaware State announced Hamilton as part of Khadijah “KD” Rushdan's coaching staff. DSU specifically cited his 14 years of NCAA experience, previous head-coaching experience, MEAC familiarity and recruiting/player-development background.
Hamilton's documented résumé is particularly strong in frontcourt/post-player development, recruiting, HBCU basketball, and helping players progress into conference-award recognition. His career includes multiple players who went on to receive MEAC or SWAC postseason honors.
