ASU welcomes new women's basketball head coach

WVAS | By Melanie Hogan

Published April 16, 2025 at 11:40 AM EDT

Alabama State University is turning the page and starting a brand-new chapter in women’s basketball. ASU officially introduced Coach Johnetta Hayes as the new head coach of the Lady Hornets! Coach Hayes is no stranger to winning.

She’s a two-time SWAC Coach of the Year, with nearly 200 career wins. She led Texas Southern to multiple SWAC titles and postseason runs and just wrapped up a strong season as an assistant at Rutgers. She’s taking over for Freda Freeman-Jackson, a legend who coached at ASU for 27 seasons. Big legacy, but Coach Hayes is ready to build on it.

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Melanie Hogan

Melanie began her career as a work study student, working in the areas of news reporting, anchoring and news-gathering. After graduating from Alabama State University, she worked as a production assistant at the local NBC affiliate, WSFA-TV. As a News Director at WVAS-FM, Melanie leads her team to produce award- winning newscasts and talk shows. Her professional achievements includes News Reporter of the Year for a number of years and awards for talk show producer, by the Alabama Broadcasters Association and the Associated Press. She is an active member of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. Her goals are to expand the reach of WVAS FM into more homes locally, regionally and nationally.

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