Amy Williams

Honors & Awards

• Head Coach, Nebraska (2016-Present)
       (177-136 Record, 10 Seasons)
• NCAA Tournament (6 Total Bids, 5 Nebraska)
       (Nebraska, 2018, 2022, 2024, 2025, 2026)
• Naismith National Coach of the Year (Semifinalist, 1 of 10, 2018)
• Big Ten Coach of the Year (2018)
• Head Coach, South Dakota (2012-16)
       96-44 Record (4 Seasons)
• Summit League Coach of the Year (2015, 2016)
• NCAA Tournament (South Dakota, 2014)
• WNIT Champions (South Dakota, 2016)
• Summit League Regular-Season Champions (South Dakota, 2015, 2016)
• Summit League Tournament Champions (2014)
• Four Summit League Championship Game Appearances
• Head Coach, Rogers State (2008-12)
       97-65 Record (5 Seasons)
• NAIA Elite Eight (Rogers State, 2012)
• Assistant Coach, Tulsa (2007)
• Assistant Coach, Oklahoma State (2002-05)
• Assistant Coach, Texas-San Antonio (2001)
• Graduate Assistant, Nebraska-Kearney (1999-2000)
• Four-Year Letterwinner Nebraska (1995-98)

A proven program builder, Amy Williams enters her 11th season as Nebraska's head coach in 2026-27, after guiding the Huskers to their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth in the last five years, while making their sixth consecutive postseason appearance a year ago.

Williams has led Nebraska to a top-45 final NCAA NET ranking in each of the last five years, joining Iowa, Maryland, Ohio State and UCLA as the only Big Ten teams to accomplish that feat.

The Huskers, who finished No. 28 in the final NET rankings in 2026, also have featured a 100 percent Graduation Success Rate in women's basketball for more than 20 years. Nebraska also has ranked among the top-25 teams nationally in average home attendance for 16 straight seasons, including 15th with 5,701 fans per game a year ago.

The 2025-26 Huskers finished 19-13 overall and 7-11 in the Big Ten after defeating Richmond 75-56 in the NCAA First Four in Durham, N.C. It was Nebraska's second NCAA Tournament win in three years. NU's season came to an end with a narrow 67-62 loss to No. 21 Baylor. It was NU's fifth loss by five or fewer points over the final 15 games of the season.

The Huskers opened the season 12-0 and played 11 games as a top-25 team after running past Virginia, 91-82, to win the Emerald Coast Classic title (Nov. 25). The Cavaliers went on to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

Nine of NU's 13 losses came to top-25 teams at game time, while 11 setbacks were to Big Ten teams that advanced to the 2026 NCAA second round.

Britt Prince captured first-team All-Big Ten honors in her second season as Nebraska's point guard. The sophomore from Omaha led the Huskers in scoring (17.9 ppg), assists (4.4 apg) and steals (1.5 spg) while adding 4.1 rebounds per game. The Elkhorn North High School graduate also earned a spot on the Nancy Lieberman Award Midseason Top 10.

The 2026-27 Huskers return Prince along with fellow junior Amiah Hargrove, who ranked second on the team in scoring (12.7 ppg) while leading the team in rebounding (5.5 rpg). Both young Huskers hit better than 50 percent of their field goals, 40 percent of their threes and 80 percent of their free throws.

Nebraska also returns senior shooter Logan Nissley, who averaged a career-best 8.9 points per game hitting 43.3 percent (65-150) of her threes.

The Big Red hopes to be bolstered by the return of 2024 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Natalie Potts and sixth-year guard Allison Weidner, after both Huskers missed last season with injuries.

Nebraska also expects to benefit from one of the best freshman classes in school history, led by NU's first-ever McDonald's High School All-American Ashlyn Koupal, a two-time South Dakota Player of the Year. Top-100 high school recruits Ava Miles and Maddi Stewart will be joined by NCAA Division I transfers Edessa Noyan and Arek Angui among Nebraska's five newcomers.

The 2024-25 Huskers closed their second straight 20-win season with a 21-12 record and a 10-8 Big Ten mark. The Big Red won two  Big Ten Tournament games on its way to an NCAA Tournament first-round clash with Louisville in Fort Worth, Texas.

Alexis Markowski wrapped up her Nebraska career as the first Husker to be a four-time first- or second-team all-conference selection. NU's career double-doubles leader (53), Markowski earned first-team All-Big Ten honors for the second straight season and finished No. 2 at Nebraska in career rebounds (1,220) and No. 7 in career points (1,902).

Prince emerged as one of the nation's best young point guards. She earned Big Ten All-Freshman recognition while adding honorable-mention all-conference accolades. She averaged 13.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and team bests of 3.8 assists and 1.7 steals. Prince, who earned USBWA National Freshman-of-the-Week honors after leading the Huskers to a road win at Iowa (Jan. 16), was Nebraska's Female Freshman Athlete of the Year across all sports.
Nebraska's 2024-25 success came despite an early season injury to Potts, who played in just five games. Through the first four games, Potts was NU's leading scorer (17.5 ppg) and rebounder (8.0 rpg).

The Huskers suffered a second major setback with the loss of Weidner to injury in early January, just days after she led the Big Red to an 85-80 home win over No. 20 Michigan State (Jan. 8).

Despite the challenges, the Huskers notched five wins over 2025 NCAA Tournament teams. The Big Red enjoyed their best season in a decade in 2023-24, claiming a first-round NCAA win over Texas A&M after earning a No. 6 seed in March Madness. The victory followed NU's run to its first Big Ten Championship Game appearance since 2014.

The tough Huskers secured a win over Purdue before notching double-digit wins over NCAA Tournament-bound Michigan State and Maryland to set up a third showdown with No. 3 Iowa in the title game. The Huskers controlled the action in much of the contest and took the Hawkeyes to overtime before falling 94-89 in the championship.

Nebraska finished with a 23-12 record that included an 11-7 Big Ten mark. NU's season featured an 82-79 win over then-No. 2 Iowa in front of a sellout crowd of more than 15,000 at Pinnacle Bank Arena (Feb. 11). The victory over the Hawkeyes matched the highest-ranked team the Huskers had ever defeated. It was one of five wins over NCAA Tournament teams the Huskers notched from Feb. 6 through the end of the season, as Nebraska went 9-4 down the stretch with road losses to No. 2 Ohio State, No. 12 Oregon State and the loss to No. 3 Iowa in Minneapolis.

During Nebraska's late-season surge, the Huskers completed a sweep of NCAA Tournament-bound Michigan (Feb. 6) and their first-ever sweep of NCAA-bound Maryland (March 9) in the Big Ten Tournament. The Huskers also locked up a season sweep of NCAA qualifier Michigan State (March 8), and a three-game season sweep of WNIT Great Eight participant Purdue (Feb. 17, March 7). The Big Red added a 19-point home win over WNIT semifinalist Minnesota (Feb. 24).

The Huskers finished No. 25 in the NET rankings with 17 of their 23 wins coming against postseason qualifiers (8 NCAA, 3 WBIT, 6 WNIT).

Nebraska's success in 2023-24 came despite losing Weidner to a season-ending injury in mid-October, and an injury to returning starter Maddie Krull.

Nebraska continued to improve throughout the season behind the consistency of Markowski and the leadership of second-team All-Big Ten guard Jaz Shelley. Two of the top players in the nation, Markowski and Shelley both claimed All-Big Ten honors for the third consecutive seasons before earning spots on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team. Shelley went on to be the No. 29 pick in the WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury.

Nebraska's most experienced players also got help from a pair of award-winning freshmen. Potts emerged as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year while Nissley joined her on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

Nebraska's success showed in the record book, including a school-record 292 made threes while ranking second in NU history with a plus-7.8 rebound margin. The 2023-24 Huskers also ranked fifth in school history with 2,533 points, fourth in rebounds (1,431) and third in assists (580).

Nebraska ranked 15th nationally with 6,088 fans per game. Every game in the 2024 Big Ten Tournament drew more than 18,000 fans at the Target Center in Minneapolis, while NU's Big Ten Championship Game appearance attracted 4.77 million viewers on CBS - the highest ratings for a women's basketball game on CBS in two decades.

Williams, who earned a contract extension through the 2028-29 season, also led Nebraska to the Big Dance in 2022, after the Huskers ran to a 24-9 record that included a final No. 23 NET ranking and a trip to the 2022 Big Ten Tournament semifinals. In 2022-23, the Huskers overcame multiple season-ending injuries to starting guards to advance to the WNIT Super 16 and finish with an 18-15 overall record.

Shelley earned first-team All-Big Ten honors, while Markowski captured second-team All-Big Ten accolades for the second straight year in 2023. Three-time honorable-mention All-Big Ten forward Isabelle Bourne also excelled before embarking on her professional career in Australia.

In 2021-22, the Huskers put one of their most complete teams on the floor, ranking 10th nationally in scoring (77.8 ppg), 13th in assists (17.4 apg), 18th in scoring margin (+13.5 ppg), while leading the Big Ten, setting a school record and ranking 21st nationally in three-pointers made per game (8.5). NU also led the Big Ten and ranked 23rd in the nation in rebounding (41.8 rpg), while leading the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense (.385).

The Huskers tied a school record with 16 home victories, including a trio of home wins over 2022 NCAA Sweet Sixteen qualifiers (Indiana, Michigan, Creighton). Overall, Nebraska notched four wins against Sweet Sixteen teams, including a victory over Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.

Nebraska's three wins over top-10 teams (No. 8 Michigan, 79-58, Jan. 4; No. 5 Indiana, 72-55, Feb. 14; No. 10 Michigan, 76-73, March 4) marked the second time in school history the Big Red posted multiple wins over top-10 teams in a season. NU's 21-point home win over the Wolverines matched the largest margin in NU history over a top-10 foe, while the 17-point win over the Hoosiers was Nebraska's largest margin ever against a top-five opponent.

Four Huskers earned All-Big Ten honors in 2021-22, led by newcomers Shelley (Second Team/All-Defensive) and Markowski (Second Team/Big Ten Freshman of the Year) and captains Sam Haiby and Bourne, who were both honorable mention.

Williams, who proved herself as a winner and a program builder in her first nine seasons as a collegiate head coach, returned to her alma mater to lead a new stage in the Husker program when she was hired as Nebraska's head coach on April 11, 2016.

In her second season with the Big Red, Williams showed she could get a program moving in a hurry, leading the nation's top turnaround on her way to 2018 Big Ten Coach-of-the-Year honors. The Huskers earned a bid to the 2018 NCAA Tournament and finished with a 21-11 record - a nation-leading 14-game turnaround in the win column over 2016-17. Nebraska was plus-eight in the win column in Big Ten play, finishing with an 11-5 mark and claiming the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The Huskers added a win over No. 24 Michigan to advance to the Big Ten semifinals for the first time since 2014.

Defensively, Nebraska led the Big Ten with a school-record field goal percentage defense (.371) while also leading the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense (.299). The Huskers improved 12.7 points per game defensively over the 2016-17 campaign and were six points per game better on the offensive end.

In 2019-20, Williams led the Huskers back to postseason eligibility with a 17-13 record before the season was ended by COVID-19.

Nebraska, which revamped its roster in 2020-21, was anchored by 6-5 center Kate Cain who earned honorable-mention All-Big Ten recognition. Nebraska's career leader in blocked shots (352), Cain claimed her third spot on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team. She was a three-time Lisa Leslie Award candidate and one of 15 finalists for Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year.

Cain, who completed her fourth season on the court at Nebraska following her early graduation in the summer of 2020, signed a free agent training camp contract with the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces in 2021 before playing professionally overseas.

Haiby and Bourne added All-Big Ten honors in 2020-21. NU's MVP, Haiby earned second-team recognition as the only player to rank among the Big Ten's top 15 in scoring (11th, 16.8 ppg), rebounding (15th, 6.8 rpg) and assists (8th, 4.4 apg).

Bourne added honorable-mention All-Big Ten recognition by averaging 13.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists as one of the Big Ten's most versatile players. Bourne, Haiby and Cain powered Nebraska to five wins over top-25 Big Ten teams.

Williams was a four-year letterwinner (Amy Gusso, 1995-96-97-98) at Nebraska, playing for coaches Angela Beck and Paul Sanderford before embarking on a career in coaching. The academic All-Big 12 honoree earned her bachelor’s degree from Nebraska as a biology and mathematics major in 1998, before earning her master’s degree in sports administration from Nebraska-Kearney in 2002.

Williams spent four successful seasons (2013-16) as the head coach at South Dakota, where she led the Coyotes to four straight postseason appearances. She led USD to a 32-6 record that culminated with a WNIT Championship in 2015-16. The Coyotes won the Summit League regular-season title with a 15-1 mark, and she was named the Summit League Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Her gritty pack of Coyotes posted a Division I school-record 32 wins (32-3), surpassing the 26 her Yotes totaled in 2014-15, when she won her first Summit League Coach-of-the-Year award. Over Williams’ final two seasons at USD, her teams went 58-14 (.806), including 28-4 in the Summit League with a pair of regular-season conference crowns.

She led USD to a school-record 16 straight wins before falling to South Dakota State in the Summit League title game. The Coyotes defeated the same SDSU team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round twice during the season. Five of USD’s six losses in 2015-16 came to teams that advanced to postseason play, including a loss to NCAA Women’s Final Four qualifier Washington.

Williams’ team rolled to a WNIT title with six straight wins, including wins over Creighton, Minnesota, Northern Iowa, Western Kentucky and a whopping 34-point victory over Oregon before beating Florida Gulf Coast.

She finished her four-year stint in Vermillion by averaging 24 victories per year in her first stop as an NCAA Division I head coach. She led the Coyotes to four straight Summit League championship games.

In 2014-15, Williams guided USD to a 26-8 mark that included a trip to the second round of the WNIT. The Coyotes went 13-3 on their way to a Summit League regular-season title. Their 2014-15 success represented a seven-game improvement in the win column over 2013-14 (19-14), when they won the Summit League Tournament title. That team earned an automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Tournament before falling to Stanford in the first round.
In her first season at South Dakota, Williams finished with a 19-16 record and earned a trip to the Women’s Basketball Invitational semifinals.

Williams, began her head coaching career with a unique opportunity at Rogers State in Oklahoma. She was named the first-ever head women’s basketball coach for the fledgling program in 2007-08 and built the program from the ground up. Her stay at the Claremore, Okla., school culminated with a trip to the NAIA Elite Eight in 2011-12. In five years with the Hillcats, Williams went 97-65, including the school’s first trip to the NAIA Tournament in 2010-11.

Williams started her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Nebraska-Kearney (1998-99 to 1999-2000), before earning a full-time assistant role at the University of Texas San Antonio (2000-01). She spent four seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Oklahoma State (2001-02 to 2004-05), before serving a similar role at Tulsa (2005-06 to 2006-07). Williams helped the Golden Hurricane claim its first Conference USA regular-season and tournament championships in 2006. The Hurricane also earned its first trip to the NCAA Tournament and won its first tournament game on its way to a 26-6 record.
Williams was the top assistant and recruiting coordinator at Oklahoma State, and brought the 2003 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year to Stillwater in a class that was ranked No. 19 by All-Star Girls Report. A native of Spearfish, S.D., Williams and her husband, Lloyd, have two daughters Kennadi and Bentli. Kennadi is a junior women's basketball and softball player at Nebraska in 2026-27.

Education

• University of Nebraska, 1998 (Bachelor's Degree, Biology/Mathematics)
• University of Nebraska-Kearney, 2002 (Master's Degree, Sports Administration)

Amy Williams' Year-by-Year Head Coaching Record  

Year	School	Record	Pct.	Conf.	Pct.	Postseason
2007-08	Rogers State (NAIA)	13-18	.419	9-13	.409	--
2008-09	Rogers State	18-14	.563	11-11	.500	--
2009-10	Rogers State	21-11	.656	12-10	.545	--
2010-11	Rogers State	23-10	.697	15-7	.682	NAIA 1st Round
2011-12	Rogers State	22-12	.647	14-8	.636	NAIA Elite Eight
2012-13	South Dakota	19-16	.543	10-6	.625	WBI Semifinals
2013-14	South Dakota	19-14	.576	7-7	.500	NCAA 1st Round
2014-15	South Dakota	26-8	.765	13-3	.813	WNIT 2nd Round
2015-16	South Dakota	32-6	.842	15-1	.938	WNIT Champion
2016-17	Nebraska	7-22	.241	3-13	.188	--
2017-18	Nebraska	21-11	.656	11-5	.688	NCAA 1st Round
2018-19	Nebraska	14-16	.467	9-9	.500	--
2019-20	Nebraska	17-13	.567	7-11	.389	-- (COVID)
2020-21	Nebraska	13-13	.500	9-10	.474	WNIT Super 16
2021-22	Nebraska	24-9	.727	11-7	.611	NCAA 1st Round
2022-23	Nebraska	18-15	.545	8-10	.444	WNIT Super 16
2023-24	Nebraska	23-12	.657	11-7	.611	NCAA 2nd Round
2024-25	Nebraska	21-12	.636	10-8	.556	NCAA 1st Round
2025-26	Nebraska	19-13	.594	7-11	.389	NCAA 1st Round
Totals	19 Seasons	370-245	.602	192-157	.550	13 Postseasons
Div. I	14 Seasons	273-180	.603	131-108	.548	11 Postseasons