Sharp Announces Addition of Joel Harrison to Coaching Staff

BOONE, N.C. - App State women's basketball head coach Alaura Sharp announced the addition of Joel Harrison as an assistant coach to her staff on Monday.
 
"Joel is a rising star in the profession," said Sharp. "His work ethic and ability to recruit top-notch players has been proven at all of his stops. His core values deeply align with the culture of the program we are working to build. He is a proven winner that understands the importance of developing the total person. We are really excited to add him to our basketball family."
 
"I am so blessed and honored to be given this opportunity by Coach Sharp to help lead this program," said Harrison. "She is a proven winner and leader and her success in year one further proves this. Throughout the interview process, the staff really embraced me and they felt like family from day one. That is a testament to both the culture and the types of people that are brought into this program." 
 
"My goal is to help us compete for Sun Belt Championships and NCAA Tournament berths yearly," Harrison said. "I also want to help our players become the best versions of themselves and experience success both on and off the basketball floor. App State is a known name in college athletics and I can't wait to represent the Black and Gold. Go Mountaineers."
 
Harrison joins the Mountaineers after making stops at West Georgia, West Florida and Faulkner as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. 
 
During the 2024-25 season, Harrison helped guide the West Georgia women's basketball team to its first ASUN tournament berth, which also marked the first postseason appearance in an ASUN Tournament across all sports at UWG. As an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, he developed ASUN All-Freshman selection Destiny Jones, who started 29 of 30 games, averaged 11.2 points per contest and grabbed 7.7 rebounds per game. Additionally, Jones tallied nine double-doubles, ranking second in the NCAA among freshmen. He also guided Zuriyah Davis to an ASUN All-Academic honor. Davis averaged 12.6 points per contest during the 2024-25 campaign. 
 
Prior to his time at West Georgia, Harrison was part of the women's basketball coaching staff at West Florida from 2021 to 2024. Across three seasons, he helped the Argonauts to a 57-28 record. He also guided Jaclyn Jarnot to a D2CCA Third Team All-America, WBCA All-America Honorable Mention and Gulf South Conference (GSC) Player of the Year accolade in 2023. In her two seasons at UWF, Jarnot averaged 16.8 points per contest, 12.9 rebounds per game and totaled 36 double-doubles. Additionally, he guided five players to All-Gulf South Conference honors and coached Zoe Piller to a GSC Freshman of the Year accolade. Harrison also oversaw the Argonauts' academics, helping the team to a GSC All-Academic Team honor as well as a trio of Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Team Honor Roll Honorable Mention selections. Additionally, he was a 2023 Leadership Playbook Assistant Coach of the Year nominee and two-time WBCA 30 Under 30 nominee. He was also one of five non-Division I coaches to be selected to attend the 2024 WBCA Next Generation Institute. 
 
From 2018 to 2021, Harrison was an assistant coach for the women's basketball program at Faulkner, assisting the Eagles to a 45-42 record. He coached two All-Americans, nine All-Conference selections and two All-Freshman players while in Montgomery, Ala. He also guided 17 athletes to all-academic honors, 10 NAIA Scholar Athletes and one SSAC Scholar Athlete of the Year. He was also a graduate assistant for the women's basketball team during the 2017-18 campaign, when the Eagles went 26-6 and appeared in the Round of 32 in the NAIA National Tournament. As a student at Faulkner, Harrison was a student manager for the men's basketball program (2011-16) where he was a part of two SSAC Tournament Championships.
 
Harrison earned his Bachelor of Science in Sports Management from Faulkner University in 2016 and earned his Master of Science in Physical Education & Sports Performance from the University of West Florida in 2024.