Bio

Jonathan Parsons will begin his ninth season as an assistant coach on the Bryant University women’s basketball staff in 2022-23. Parsons also serves as the program's recruiting coordinator and is responsible for scouting, assisting with guards and wings, as well as organizing Bryant Women's Basketball Elite Camps, which the program runs each summer.

Since joining the program, Parsons has helped coach players to eleven annual NEC awards. Most recently, In 2019-20, Parsons led Nicole Gallagher to an NEC All-Rookie team honor in 2019-20.  In 2016-17, Parsons helped coach senior Alex Klein to First Team All-NEC recognition from the conference. The 2015-16 campaign saw four Bulldogs take home end-of-season honors from the conference, as Breanna Rucker, Ivory Bailey, Tiersa Winder and Kierra Palmer were named to First, Second, Third and All-Rookie teams, respectively. The 2014-15 season, Parsons first with the Bulldogs, had three players take home NEC laurels. Parsons helped coach Breanna Rucker to a conference Player of the Year award and a spot on the All-Conference first team, while Ivory Bailey was named both Rookie of the Year and to the All-Rookie team.

In 2016-17, Parsons helped lead the Bulldogs to their best-ever Northeast Conference finish, reaching the conference finals where they fell to No. 1 Robert Morris. The 18-14 Bulldogs went 11-7 against conference foes, earning the No. 4 seed in the league tournament. The Bulldogs hosted and defeated No. 5 Mount St. Mary's in the NEC Quarterfinals, before defeating No. 2 Sacred Heart in the NEC Semifinals en route to the program's first-ever NEC Championship appearance as the unlikely No. 4 seed. 

With his strong recruiting skills, Parsons saw the Black and Gold welcome the second-ranked class in the NEC, ranked by All-Star Girls Report, one of the nation's leading scouting services. In addition, Parsons helped Bryant receive one of just 25 honorable mention rankings by Blue Star Recruiting for its 2016-17 incoming class.

In the 2015-16 season, Parsons helped the Bulldogs back to the NEC Tournament after posting an 18-13 overall record and 14-4 conference mark, including a 10-0 start in league play, becoming one of only seven teams to reach the 10-0 tally in Northeast Conference history (29 years). The No. 2 Bulldogs took down No. 7 LIU Brooklyn, 70-56, in the NEC Quarterfinals, before No. 3 Robert Morris upset the Bulldogs, 72-59, for the third-straight year in the league semifinals. 

“We were always really impressed with Jon’s work ethic while at Brown,” said head coach Mary Burke. “His diligence as a coach and his ability to identify true student-athletes will be a great asset to our program.”

During the 2014-15 season, his first at Bryant, Parsons helped the Bulldogs capture a share of the Northeast Conference Regular Season Title. The Black and Gold also tied the mark for the most wins in program history (22), set the program record for most Northeast Conference wins in a season (14), and the highest finish in the NEC standings in Bryant history (tied for first).

A Stoughton, Mass. native, Parsons spent the last five seasons as an assistant coach at Brown University where he helped the Bears to a 16-win season in 2011-12. At Brown, Parsons' duties included recruiting, game scheduling, opponents scouting, film exchange and summer camp organization. He also served as the team’s defensive coordinator, helping the Bears rank in the top 125 in scoring defense for two-straight seasons (2011-13). Over his five years in Providence, Parsons helped lead Brown to 53 wins and coached a total of nine All-Ivy players, including four All-Ivy Second Teamers.

Prior to his time at Brown, Parsons spent a year as a women’s hoops assistant coach at the University of New Haven. At UNH, Parsons helped the Chargers transition into the Northeast-10, guiding the program to its first-ever NE-10 postseason berth.

Parsons also earned his master’s degree in the Management of Sport Industries at New Haven, serving as the Graduate Assistant for Compliance and Student Development. The coach is also a 2008 graduate of Sacred Heart Universit and served as the team manager for the Pioneer’s men’s basketball program for four seasons. A Sport Management and Finance major, Parsons is an active member of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and was a presenter at the Assistant Coach Roundtables by Nike at the 2014 Final Four in Nashville, Tenn.

Parsons married his wife Melanie in May of 2017. Together, they live in Warwick with their 2-year old daughter, Avery.