Chief basketball coach of the University of South Carolina Frank Martin announced on Wednesday the hiring of Will Bailey as an assistant coach for Gamecocks. Bailey arrives in Columbia after spending the past four seasons in the same position in Saint Louis.
“I’m excited to add Will Bailey for our team; it fits perfectly, “said Martin.” We have known each other since our days in East America, when I was in Northeastern and he was in Maine. He has an unrelenting work ethic that he uses in recruiting and developing the player. It is no surprise that everywhere he goes, the program starts to win. “
USC Athletics Communications and Public Relations
Born in Chicago, Bailey served as an assistant at SLU, La Salle, East Tennessee State, Maine and Chicago State and has over 15 years of experience at the Division I level.
“I am very excited to join Coach Martin’s team here at the University of South Carolina. He is highly respected in the college’s coaching community and the SEC,” commented Bailey. “The University of South Carolina is an exceptional institution with a great reputation for both athletics and academics. Coach Martin has built a great culture here and has a vision for the future that I am proud to be a part of. I am super excited. about this opportunity. “
Bailey was hired in Saint Louis in April 2016 and helped the Billikens to improve their winning totals each season they were on the team, highlighting an overall record of 23-13, an A-10 Tournament Championship and a spot in NCAA Tournament in 2018- 19 He helped tutor all conference guards Javon Bess, who was named Defensive Player of the Year A-10 in 2019.
While at La Salle, Bailey helped the Explorers reach the Posteason NIT in 2011-12, before the team advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 Tournament in 2012-13. La Salle was one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country in 2011-12, finishing fourth nationally with 40.6 percent beyond the arc. Bailey played an important role in developing guards for all conferences Earl Pettis, Ramon Galloway and Tyreek Duren with the Explorers.
Bailey spent seven seasons as an assistant at ETSU under his former coach Murray Bartow, helping the Bucs win six conference titles, three NCAA tournament seats, an NIT appearance and four 20-win campaigns. Bailey trained two of ETSU’s top three scorers in Tim Smith and Courtney Pigram and three conference players of the year during his time with the Buccaneer program.
Bailey also spent a season as an assistant in Maine (2002-03) and Chicago State (2001-02), and as a student assistant and later an undergraduate assistant at UAB after completing his eligibility.
Before working as a coach, Bailey played two seasons at UAB (1995-97) and served as captain of the 1996-97 team that arrived at NIT. He was also chosen as the team’s best defensive player in 1997. Bailey spent two seasons at Parkland College, helping his team reach the top spot in the ranking and the NJCAA National Tournament in 1994 and, in 1995, Bailey had an average of 18 points per game, leading the nation in assists and was a first team selection throughout the conference. He was inducted into the Parkland College Hall of Fame in 2019.