Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Athletics

Lisa Wilson was selected as the first head coach of the Embry-Riddle women’s basketball program in August 2013. After taking a year to recruit, Wilson put together a lineup that played its inaugural game on Nov. 7, 2014. The first edition of Embry-Riddle women’s basketball made waves in its first season of competition, finishing at 17-12 overall. The Eagles’ 9-9 Sun Conference record put them at fourth in the league’s regular season standings and the Blue and Gold closed out its inaugural campaign in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament.
 
The Eagles managed just seven wins in their first year of NCAA II provisional membership in 2015-16, but Wilson quickly turned things around the following year. She guided her young squad to a 17-9 overall ledger and a 14-6 record against Sunshine State Conference opponents.
 
The 2017-18 season marked ERAU Women’s Basketball’s first season of competition as a full member of NCAA II and the Sunshine State Conference, and the Eagles immediately established themselves as a force to be reckoned with. The Blue and Gold opened its campaign on a program-best six-game winning streak and went on to finish tied for second in the SSC regular season standings at 15-5. Wilson’s squad finished as the SSC Tournament runner-up and earned an NCAA II National Tournament berth before closing out the year South Region semifinals with a program-best 24-8 overall record.
 
The 10th season of Embry-Riddle Women’s Basketball was a special one as Wilson led the Blue & Gold to the 2024-25 Sunshine State Conference regular season title as well as the 2025 SSC Tournament crown. The Eagles posted an overall record of 27-5 as well as a league record of 17-3, both of which were program bests and were ranked as high as seventh nationally on the way to a NCAA II South Region Tournament semifinal finish. Additionally, Madyson Jean-Louis was named the SSC Player and Defensive Player of the Year, which were also program firsts.
 
Jean-Louis is one of many student-athletes that Wilson has guided to individual accolades in her 10-year tenure with the Eagles. In 2014-15 Mercedes Jorge garnered first team All-Sun Conference honors, while Sabrina Whiting, who was The Sun Conference Freshman of the Year and an All-Defensive Team selection, joined Taylor Cyphers as a second team selection. Since being ineligible for postseason awards during the two-year transition from NAIA to NCAA II, the women’s basketball program has featured in the Sunshine State Conference listings. She has coached 14 All-Conference selections, a Player of the Year, a Defensive Player of the Year, two Freshmen of the Year and one Newcomer of the Year. In addition, Jean-Louis earned the program’s third All-Region honor and became the program’s first Honorable Mention All-American in 2024-25.
 
Wilson has sought to build a culture of excellence in Embry-Riddle Women’s Basketball, on the floor, in the classroom and in the community. The Eagles have posted a better than 3.5 cumulative team grade point average in each of the last 10 semesters and ERAU has been one of 25 teams to be named to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's Academic Honor Roll six times, including a 3.822 cumulative GPA in 2022-23 which ranked as the fifth best GPA among NCAA II programs. In addition, the Eagles logged more than 200 hours of community service in 2022-23.
 
Wilson came to Embry-Riddle with 17 years of previous experience in women’s basketball coaching, recruiting and program management. Her coaching experience began in 1996 when she was the assistant and junior varsity coach at her alma mater Lake Howell High School. She simultaneously assumed the assistant coaching responsibility at Seminole State College and after a year of dual coaching, she moved exclusively into college coaching, going to Georgia Southern where she was a women’s basketball first assistant coach and recruiting coordinator from 1997-01. Her recruiting efforts produced 10 student-athletes who helped the Eagles to two Southern Conference titles and still hold top marks in the GSU record books.
 
Wilson then moved to Stetson as the Lady Hatters’ women’s basketball recruiting coordinator from 2001-02. In just one season at Stetson, she signed seven players, including Joslyn Giles, who was the 2002-03 Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year.
 
In 2002, Wilson was given the opportunity to become the head women’s basketball coach at Seminole Community College, now Seminole State College. As the head coach at a Division I junior college program, Wilson led the women’s basketball team to a combined 59-29 record over her three seasons from 2002-05 and under her guidance, the Raiders were co-conference regular season champions, achieved a No. 9 national ranking and were ranked in the Region 8 top 10 each year.
 
After her first head coaching job, Wilson returned to Division I women’s basketball as an assistant coach for the University of Alabama. At Alabama, Wilson assisted the women’s basketball program in recruiting, game preparation, administrative duties, academic monitoring and individualized position coaching, working with both post players and guards during her tenure. She was also the director of the Alabama camp programs.
 
Throughout her pre-Embry-Riddle coaching career, Wilson mentored and coached 17 All-Academic team members, 16 All-Conference selections, two All-State honorees, a Scholar-Athlete of the Year, an Arthur Ashe Female Athlete of the Year and a Freshman of the Year. Additionally, five of her student-athletes have gone on to play professionally, including Aneika Henry who played for the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA.
 
After three seasons at Alabama, Wilson became a national evaluator with Blue Star Basketball and in in 2010, she started the Blue Star-Florida Basketball program serving as a head coach and program director. With Blue Star, Wilson was tasked with overseeing high school and elite-level women’s basketball, recruiting players, administering program budgets, scheduling tournaments, and managing all public relations. Under her direction, 18 individuals have earned All-State recognition, while 13 have signed NCAA Division I contracts. Through her role at Blue Star, Wilson has developed a broad network of recruiting contacts in the state of Florida.
 
Wilson began her collegiate playing career at West Virginia Tech where she helped the Golden Bears to a conference regular season title and a perfect 18-0 league record in 1990-91. The following season, the Florida native returned to her home state where she was named the Academic Athlete of the Year at Valencia Community College. An NJCAA Academic All-America nominee, she helped the Matadors to the 1992 conference crown. After transferring from Valencia Community College, Wilson transferred to the University of Central Florida where she played for the Knights’ women’s basketball team. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from UCF in 1994.
 
Wilson is married to Dr. Matt Wilson. They reside in Ormond Beach with their son Rocco.