University of Memphis Athletics
Read Signs On as Women's Basketball Assistant Coach
Aug 01, 2025 | Women's Basketball
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis women's basketball head coach Alex Simmons announced Friday the signing of Vonn Read as an assistant coach for the 2025-26 season.
"We are excited to add Coach Read to our Tiger family. He comes with countless experiences and expertise in the women's game at the WNBA and collegiate level and will elevate our program tremendously," said Simmons. "Vonn comes from a pedigree of winning at the highest level and will be a huge addition to our already strong staff dynamic. We are happy to add Coach Read and his family."
Read fills out the 2025-26 coaching staff after former assistant coach Whitney Bays accepted a head coaching position at West Virginia State University.
Read comes to Bluff City after three seasons as an associate head coach at the University of Houston. In his first season, the Cougars finished 10-5 in American Conference play, earning the No. 4 seed and reaching the tournament final before losing, 46-44, to East Carolina. They ranked second nationally in steals per game (13.9) and three-point percentage defense (24.4%), while ranking third in turnovers forced per game (24.7).
Before his tenure in Houston, Read was an assistant coach at Syracuse, and he served as the acting head coach for the 2021-22 season. At the helm, Read's Orange ranked fourth in the nation in free throw percentage (.804) and 23rd in steals (294). They led the ACC in free throw percentage and steals per game (10.1), and they were second in three-pointers per game (7.6) and turnovers forced (19.2).
As an assistant, Read helped develop Syracuse's defensive and offensive systems, predicated on winning the possession battle and maximizing offensive efficiency. While on staff during the 2015-16 season, the Orange reached the Final Four for the first time in program history, falling in the National Championship game against UConn. They reached the NCAA Tournament in eight consecutive seasons.
Read served as an assistant coach at Albany from 2008-10 and at Kentucky from 2005-08. In his first season with the Wildcats, the team beat top-ranked Tennessee and advanced to the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
Prior to his collegiate coaching days, Read served as an assistant coach for the United States Basketball League's Dodge City Legend in 2005, winning the league title. He spent the 2004 WNBA season as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Silver Stars under former NBA standout Dee Brown.
Boasting a variety of basketball experiences, Read spent five seasons with the Orlando Magic from 1999 to 2004. He worked in video scouting for the first two seasons and spent his last three years as an advance scout. In 2001, he served as an assistant coach for the team's summer league squad. Read has also held various positions with WNBA teams: in 2003, he was an advance scout for the Charlotte Sting, and he was an assistant coach for the Orlando Miracle in 2002 and Phoenix Mercury in 2000.
The Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native got his start as a coach as an assistant at Spelman College in Atlanta from 1997-99. In his time at Spelman, he also worked at Turner Sports as a senior archivist and production assistant for NBA telecasts. Prior to entering the coaching ranks, Read served in the United States Army from 1989-93 at Fort Drum, N.Y., and Fort Lee, Va.
A published writer, Read has six basketball playbooks to his name in a series called "The Basketball Encyclopedia." He graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science from Clark Atlanta in 1997, where he was a member of the tennis team. He and his wife, Cincereru, have two children, Brandon and April.
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