Jones College

Ellisville native Trista Magee Whitman, 28, was named the 14th head women's basketball coach at Jones College in March 2025.

It's her first collegiate head coaching job after spending the 2024-25 season as an assistant coach at Alabama-Birmingham and four as a high school coach at three stops in Mississippi. 

"I am excited and eager to contribute to the existing legacy that has already been established in the women's basketball program," Whitman said. "I was reared on the campus, and by the faculty of Jones College, and it's an honor to return home in an official capacity."

Whitman is well connected at the NCAA Division I level having played and coached, forming relationships with dozens of coaches from the ACC, Conference USA, SEC and American Conferences to name a few. 

She is committed to growth, having attended numerous Mississippi Association of Coaches, NABC and WBCA Conventions. She's also a current member of the Mississippi Women's Coaching Academy.

Whitman's first coaching job was at Stringer Attendance Center. She was also the head coach at Forrest County Agricultural High School for a year and two at Petal. 

Petal set a home attendance record in her first season and doubled the amount of wins in the previous two years combined. The Panthers beat Hattiesburg for the first time in over a decade and posted the first double digit win season in five years. 

Whitman started her collegiate playing career at The University of Alabama and continued at UAB for three seasons.

She played in 80 career games for the Blazers, including 31 starts her senior year when she helped UAB set a single-season school record in three-point field goal percentage (.381). Off the court she was named CSC Academic All-District and to the Conference USA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll.

Whitman received her associate degree from Jones in 2017 and bachelor's, with minors in public health and marketing, and masters degree from UAB in 2018 and 2020.

She was Presbyterian Christian School's all-time leading scorer with over 3,000 points, a three-time Clarion-Ledger Dandy Dozen selection, a McDonald's All-American nominee and Pine Belt Sports, Hattiesburg American and MAIS Player of the Year. Whitman averaged 19.4 points and 11.0 rebounds per game as a senior and 22.3 points and 10.0 rebounds as a junior.

Whitman's brother, Johnny, played baseball at Jones and her mother, Gwen, started slow-pitch softball at Jones, was an NJCAA Hall of Famer and the field is named after her.

Whitman was married in June 2020 to her husband, Cole, and the couple have a five-month old daughter Anderson.