Razor Promoted to Women’s Basketball Associate Head Coach

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Nicole Razor of James Madison women's basketball has been elevated to associate head coach, as announced by Head Coach Sean O'Regan on Thursday. The 2026-27 season will mark Razor's third as a member of the Dukes' coaching staff.

"Coach Razor has been a great asset to us in her first two years," said O'Regan. "She has helped move our program forward in so many ways. I'm glad to announce her new title and look forward to what we can do moving forward."

In her new role, Razor will assume oversight of the Dukes' defensive game play. After joining the JMU staff as an assistant coach before the 2024-25 season, she introduced new defensive drills that have been instrumental to the team's success.

"I want to express the immense pride I feel coaching at JMU," said Razor. "Coach O has provided me a chance to learn and grow under his program, and with this new role, I plan to continue to do just that. I'm grateful for the opportunity and look forward to continuing to build on our winning tradition."

JMU has gone 56-15 (.789) in Razor's first two seasons in Harrisonburg, with its 56 wins tying for 11th in Division I in that span. The Dukes are coming off a 29-6 (14-4 Sun Belt) season in which, following a 74-67 loss at Arkansas State (Jan. 25), they rattled off 12 consecutive victories on their way to a Sun Belt Conference Championship tournament title. During that winning streak, JMU held opponents to 54.2 points per game, with the final nine opponents all scoring 57 points or fewer, to which O'Regan credited Razor for her defensive adjustments.

For their efforts this past season, Ashanti Barnes and Bree Robinson were both named to the All-Sun Belt Defensive team. Barnes' 7.9 rebounds per game in 2025-26 place her seventh in JMU single-season history, while Robinson's 82 steals tied the program record, set by Jess Cichowicz in 2002-03. Moreover, Brianna McLeod finished fourth in the nation with 52 blocks off the bench.

Statistically, James Madison's defense has been among the nation's best, ranking eighth in rebounds per game (42.4) and 15th in field goal percentage (.368) across the last two seasons. Additionally, the Dukes have led the Sun Belt in opponent points per game (62.5) as the program has gone 32-4 (.889) against the league in that time.

The Dukes open the 2026-27 season on the road against Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 2 for the first leg of the MAC-SBC Challenge. James Madison's complete schedule will be announced at a later date.

Calendar