FGCU women’s basketball head coach Raina Harmon isn’t wasting time assembling her staff for next year.
Just a month removed from stepping into the role, Harmon has hired Will McIntire from Rutgers, Tyler Johnson from IU Indy, Sydnei McCaskill from North Florida and Janelle Silver-Martin from Morgan State. For McCaskill and Silver-Martin, this marks their return to FGCU.
Will McIntire was the director of scouting and technology at Rutgers this year, and before that, he was a graduate assistant and manager at the University of Iowa. At Iowa, he managed coordinating recruiting visits, managing practice and advising on scheduling and training.
McIntire has experience engaging with donors and working on fundraising behind the scenes. During his time at Iowa, he coordinated visits with donors, special visitors and name, image and likeness (NIL) collectives. As an assistant coach at FGCU, McIntire brings experience in multiple departments that he can help FGCU improve.
Janelle Silver-Martin brings a background that includes experience positions as the director of basketball operations at the University of Richmond, assistant coach at Morgan State University, assistant coach at Valdosta state, a previous stint at FGCU as a video coordinator and many more.
She is someone who provides a long history of experience in high leadership roles to the staff. Silver-Martin played college basketball at Division II Ohio Valley University, Morgan State and St. Thomas University from 2012 to 2018. She played a significant role in the program’s success during her time working under Karl Smesko.
Sydnei McCaskill has experience at FGCU both as a coach and player. She spent two seasons at the school after transferring from Georgia, before moving into roles as a video coordinator and director of operations under Smesko.
During her time at the University of North Florida, she helped scout and recruit players like Alexa Washington, who was an ASUN All-Freshman honoree and broke the record for most 3-pointers made in a single game, making 10 in one game. Her deep recruiting ties in the state of Florida and experience recruiting and scouting in different places across the country make her a dynamic addition to this new staff, which has shown proven results in finding and developing hidden gems.
Lastly, Tyler Johnson will be coming from IU Indy to be a video coordinator for the Eagles. Before his time at IU Indy, he worked as a graduate assistant at Ohio University while earning his master’s degree in coaching education. While still early in his coaching career, Johnson provides the staff with another creative mind and someone who has experience in aiding recruiting efforts and databases, as well as helping players with their practice experience.
Harmon has made it her mission early to build a staff with experience recruiting and scouting top talent at the college basketball level, as well as experience in fundraising and handling the little things behind the scenes.
In the modern world of college athletics, it is crucial to have staff members with experience talking to donors and NIL collectives to access new fundraising opportunities. Especially at the mid-major level, it’s also important to have staff members who know how to scout and develop hidden gems, to build a competitive roster that can win in the postseason. Harmon is making all the right moves early to keep FGCU’s winning culture moving forward.
