Original article (Tartamella Announces Women’s Basketball Coaching Staff Hires) on St. John’s University’s athletic website redstormsports.com.
St. John’s Head Women’s Basketball Coach Joe Tartamella announced the hiring of Bill Ferrara as Associate Head Coach and Candice Walker as Recruiting Coordinator and Assistant Coach.
Ferrara, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., joins the Johnnies following four seasons as an assistant coach at The University of New Mexico. During his tenure with the Lobos, Ferrara helped lead the squad to a 79-40 record, including back-to-back 20-plus win seasons. The consecutive 20-plus win seasons with Ferrara marked the first for the Lobos in over a decade. With Ferrara on staff, UNM also earned three postseason berths.
In the team’s most recent season, Ferrara helped guide the Lobos to an 11-3 record in Mountain West play, as the squad captured its first regular season championship since the 2004-05 campaign.
“I have known Bill for almost my entire career in coaching,” said Tartamella. “He has tremendous passion and energy for what he does, which has made him very successful at every stop he has had. He has a great mind for the game, excels at developing and identifying talent and is a proven winner. We welcome Bill and his family back to New York and to the BIG EAST.”
In charge of the post players at UNM, Ferrara served as a mentor for Jaisa Nunn, a two-time All-Mountain West honoree and the 2018-19 Mountain West Player of the Year.
Prior to his time at UNM, Ferrara was an assistant coach at the University of Florida from 2015-2017. During his tenure with the Gators, Ferrara helped the team earn a no. 5 seed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Ferrara played a key role in the Gators’ offensive performance that season, as they led the SEC in scoring for the first time in program history.
Before his time at Florida, Ferrara spent two seasons at George Washington University where he played an instrumental role in recruiting, player development, strength and conditioning as well as working with post players. He helped the Colonials earn a no. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament in addition to a program-record 29 wins (29-4 record) during the 2014-15 season.
Ferrara began his coaching career at Central Michigan (2008-11) before taking on the role as recruiting coordinator at Hofstra. While with the Pride, he helped assemble the sixth-best recruiting class among mid-majors in 2012 according to ESPN Hoopgurlz.