Erie, PA - Mercyhurst Women's Basketball is welcoming an array of coaching talent for the 2025-26 season.

The Lakers are going to be joined by Jermaine Cooper Sr. who will take on the role of Recruiting and Player Development Coordinator; Kelly Simmons and Amber Renz as assistant coaches; and Jack Aprilante who will serve as a Graduate Assistant. 

Jermaine Cooper Sr. brings a wealth of coaching experience, a sharp offensive mind, and a strong commitment to player development. Cooper joins Mercyhurst from Merrimack College, where he served as the Lead Assistant Coach and played a pivotal role in the program's success during its transition into the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). 

In the 2023–24 season, he led post player development and served as the team's Defensive Coordinator, helping Merrimack finish 2nd in the NEC in rebounding. In the 2024–25 season, he focused on guard development and helped coordinate the team's offensive strategies. Known for his innovative offensive approach, Cooper was instrumental in the team's system development and game planning. Merrimack capped its first season in the MAAC with a 4th-place finish in the conference tournament, highlighted by Thalia Shepard earning MAAC All-Tournament Team honors. Off the court, the program also excelled academically, finishing 12th in the nation in team G.P.A at the conclusion of the 2023-2024 season. Cooper graduated from The Ohio State in 2009 with his B.A. in Communications and Technology where he later pursued his Masters of Science in Sport Management from California University of Pennsylvania in 2016.

Kelly Simmons is rejoining Head Coach Erin Mills-Reid as an assistant coach after serving as an Graduate Assistant at the University of Akron in 2024-25. Her responsibilities included support on-court-coaching, player development workouts, scout team, content creation, recruiting activities, film work, coordinate managers, social media/branding, and general day-to-day operational tasks. At Akron, she was one of twenty one graduate assistants selected to participate in the TopConnect Graduate Leadership Academy (GALA4) with Coach Josh Pastner– a program connecting young collegiate athletic professionals with veteran mentors.

Prior to Akron, Simmons spent the 2022-2024 as the assistant at her alma mater, Trinity University in San Antonio, TX under Head Coach Cameron Hill. Over two seasons, Simmons went 50-8, won the 2023 and 2024 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Tournament Champions, and advanced to the 2023 NCAA DIII Third Round and 2024 NCAA DIII Second Round. The 2022-2023 season saw Trinity hold the top spot in the d3hoops Top25 national poll for three weeks (the first time since the 2003-2004 season). In 2023-2024, Simmons supported an offense that led DIII in 3FGM per game at 10.1. Outside of Trinity, Simmons remained active, working various summer youth camps and coaching the Rohawks, a 16U Boys Basketball AAU Team. As a player at Trinity, Simmons appeared in all 98 games achieving an 83-15 record with a 54-5 mark for SCAC play. Her playing career is highlighted by four consecutive regular season SCAC titles, the 2021 and 2022 SCAC Tournament Championships, 2020 and 2022 NCAA DIII Tournaments Appearances (2021 national tournament canceled). In the 2019-2020 season, Simmons was part of a unit that led the DIII in assists to turnover ratio. Simmons finished her time at Trinity 12th in career rebounds and ninth in career blocks at Trinity. She received a B.A. in Political Science and History and is a member of the ODK leadership circle.

Amber Renz will be reuniting with Mercyhurst as she steps into her new role as Assistant Coach. A 2020 graduate of Mercyhurst, Renz capped off her career as a PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) First Teamer, finished with over 1,000 points, was a 4x PSAC Scholar Athlete and Academic Achievement Award winner from 2018 to 2020. 

Most recently, Renz spent the last academic year at Tarleton State University, where she was the Athletic Academic Coordinator for Beach Volleyball, Cross Country, Track and Field, and Volleyball. During her time she advised and supported a case load of student-athletes to ensure academic success and eligibility requirements. She also oversaw the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, promoting student-athlete growth on and off the playing surfaces.

Before arriving in Stephenville, Renz worked three years as the Assistant Women's Basketball Coach at Minot State University and spent one season as the Graduate Assistant. While there, she provided an environment that guided her players to be successful on and off the court. Renz was fortunate to coach Two All-NSIC First Team Selections in Amber Stevahn ('22) and Kate Head ('23).  During the 2023-34 season the team had their first NSIC postseason berth since the 2019-20 season. While at Minot State, Renz also earned her Masters Degree in Sports Management in 2022 where she received the College of Business Outstanding Student Award.

Jack Aprilante will be serving as the Women's Basketball Graduate Assistant for the 2025-26 season. He was previously a coaching assistant for WVU Women's Basketball (2023-25) where he primarily focused on scouting opponents and contributing to game strategy. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Athletic Coaching from WVU in 2023 while serving as a student manager for the WVU Men's Basketball team. He will be pursuing his Masters in Organizational Leadership at Mercyhurst.