Jenna Giacone concluded her second season as the Director of Scouting & Player Development for the Fighting Illini women's basketball program in 2023-24. With the passing of the NCAA Coaching Limit Increase in July 2023, Giacone was elevated to an assistant coach. Giacone's hire was announced by head coach Shauna Green on May 11, 2022.

In Giacone's first season as an assistant coach, the Illinois women's basketball team tallied 19 wins, the first-ever postseason championship in program history (2024 WBIT), and an upset of AP-ranked No. 14 Indiana (2/19/24).

The 2023-24 season saw Illinois earned an at-large bid into the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (second NCAA-sponsored postseason tournament behind the NCAA Tournament). The staff led the squad to a WBIT championship with five-straight wins to close the season with a 19-15 overall record.

In 2022-23, the Illini finished 22-10 (11-7 B1G) and returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 20 seasons. Illinois found itself ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2000 and would appear in four polls, ranking as high as No. 21.

Giacone, a standout performer and All-Atlantic 10 selection during her time at Dayton joined the Illini fresh off a preseason stint in training camp with the WNBA’s Seattle Storm in 2022. She spent her entire collegiate career under the tutelage of Green’s staff at UD where she helped lead the Flyers to five regular-season conference championships, two A-10 tournament titles and  six consecutive postseason appearances, including four NCAA Tournament berths.

Giacone’s Dayton career was extended, from 2016-17 through 2021-22, by an injury her sophomore campaign and the extra year of eligibility granted to student-athletes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Along the way, she became one of the most decorated players in program history. While playing in 125 games in a Flyers’ uniform with 42 starts, Giacone tallied 975 points, 313 rebounds and 171 assists. She earned two first-team All-Atlantic 10 honors in 2021 and 2022, and was named the conferences most improved player for the 2020-21 season.

The Delmar, N.Y., native came to Dayton after a stellar prep career at Bethlehem Central where she averaged 14.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 3.3 steals and 2.1 blocks per game throughout her high school career, winning a regional championship and earning accolades as an all-state selection and a McDonald’s All-American nominee.

Giacone, who published a children’s book entitled “Gabby’s Got Game” in January 2022, earned her bachelor’s degree in sports management from Dayton in 2019, and completed her master’s degree in business administration from the school in 2021.

Last updated May 2024

Coaching Career