A Gulf Breeze High School graduate is heading to one of the most storied programs in women’s basketball history.
Head coach Kim Caldwell Hill named Bill Ferrara, who has built a 19-year career in college basketball, to the Tennessee Lady Vols coaching staff on March 31. Ferrara joins the Knoxville program as an assistant coach, bringing with him a reputation as one of the most innovative offensive minds in women’s college basketball.
“Most-Ready” Assistant
Ferrara spent the last four seasons as associate head coach at Florida State, where his offensive system helped the Seminoles lead the nation in scoring at 86.9 points per game in 2024-25. FSU broke the 100-point barrier seven times that season and produced the nation’s leading scorer in Ta’Niya Latson at 25.9 points per game. Under Ferrara’s watch, the Seminoles set program records for made three-pointers in three consecutive seasons, capping it with 286 in 2024-25.
- The Athletic named him one of the nation’s “most-ready assistant coaches” to become a head coach in January 2024.
Before FSU, Ferrara served as associate head coach at St. John’s, where he helped the Red Storm improve their scoring average by 14 points per game in a single season. He also spent four seasons at New Mexico, two at Florida—where he helped the Gators earn a No. 5 NCAA Tournament seed in 2016—and stops at George Washington, Hofstra and Central Michigan.
- Among the players he has coached: Jonquel Jones, the 2021 WNBA MVP, whom he worked with at George Washington.
Ferrara earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Florida.
Pelican Lore: In July 2003, Ferrara served as the Pensacola Pelicans roving commentator. With the help of the late T. Bubba Bechtol, Ferrara attempted to set a record for the most people sitting simultaneously on whoopee cushions.
- Dig Deeper: The Guinness World Records title for the largest group sitting simultaneously on whoopee cushions is 5,983 participants, achieved at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta on Oct. 6, 2005. Ferrara and the Pelicans didn’t have a chance in 2003 to set the record, but they created a memorable promotion.