Dan Davis is currently in his 11th season on the sidelines of the Auburn Montgomery women’s basketball program and his 10th as head coach. Davis was hired in 2007 as an assistant coach with the Warhawks, before becoming the fourth head coach in program’s history in 2008.
Davis has continued the team’s proud history of success on and off the court. In his 10 seasons as head coach, Davis led the Warhawks to the NAIA Tournament twice and earned Southern States Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors. During his time at the helm, Davis has also coached five All-American players, including the 2015-16 Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association’s NAIA Player of the Year in Jatoria Carter, 13 SSAC All-Conference performers, seven SSAC All-Division selections and three SSAC All-Freshman team members, while leading the team to an overall mark of 157-139.
Along with success on the court, the Warhawks have also excelled in the classroom under Davis, as student-athletes have been named NAIA Scholar Athletes 10 times. They have earned SSAC Academic All-Conference honors 31 times. The women’s basketball program has also had the AUM Female Honor Student-Athlete three times during his tenure and has posted a team GPA of 3.0 or better during 12 of 16 semesters under Davis. Additionally, his team has been extremely active in the community, including Make a Difference Day in which student-athletes partner with the local Molina Learning Center to read with children and help them select new books for their personal libraries.
During the 2017-18 season, the Warhawks’ defensive held opponents to 59.8 points per game, ranking 40th in all of Division II.
During the 2016-17 season, the Warhawks' first season in the NCAA transition process, the Warhawks claimed their first win of the NCAA Division II era against Georgia Southwestern. Kaylan Winthrow set the program-record for career three pointers on Dec. 12 at Florida Southern.
During the 2015-16 season, Davis guided the Warhawks to their 19th NAIA National Tournament appearance and to a 23-10 record. The 23 victories marked the most by an AUM women’s team since the 2006-07 squad finished 28-6. Carter was selected the NAIA Player of the Year by the WBCA, while also earned First Team All-American honors from both the WBCA and the NAIA. She was also selected the SSAC Player and Defensive Player of the Year. Additionally, Reggotta Craig was named a NAIA Honorable Mention All-American and first-team all-conference selection, while Kaylan Withrow earned second-team all-conference accolades and set an AUM season record with 108 3-pointers.
During the 2014-15 season, Davis helped AUM to a 21-10 record, marking his third 20-plus win season at the helm. The Warhawks qualified for the SSAC Tournament for the fourth consecutive season, earning the No. 3 seed after posting a 12-6 conference record. Carter enjoyed a decorated campaign, earning Honorable Mention All-American honors from the NAIA, as well as Newcomer of the Year and first-team all-conference accolades from the SSAC. Withrow was a second-team all-conference selection, while three student-athletes were selected to the SSAC All-Academic team. As a team, the Warhawks ranked in the top-10 of the NAIA in scoring defense and steals.
Davis and the Warhawks finished 14-15 during the 2013-14 season, overcoming a first half of the season in which AUM had just seven players. The Warhawks had two all-conference selections in Katie Williams and Tina Odume, while under his guidance Marren Schwartz also earned all-division honors. Withrow was named a member of the league’s all-freshman team. Williams and Jazmine Jackson earned SSAC All-Academic team honors, while Williams was selected a NAIA Scholar Athlete.
In 2012-13, Davis guided the Warhawks to a 21-9 record, marking the most wins in the program since the 2006-07 season. The season was highlighted by a 54-49 victory over NAIA national runner-up Lee University, a program which AUM has beaten only four times in program history. Under his leadership, LaKenya Drayton became the 24th AUM player to earn All-America status, earning honorable mention honors, along with all-conference accolades from the SSAC. Additionally, Williams and Psachal Maize were selected to the SSAC All-West Division team.
The two seasons prior, the team finished with identical 14-16 records. The 2011-12 season gave plenty of reasons for optimism, however, with newcomers Drayton and Keisha Moore both earning spots on the SSAC All-West Division team and Schwartz making the All-Freshman team. The team also continued its success in the classroom, finishing with a grade-point average over 3.0 for the fourth consecutive year. Four players earned spots on the SSAC All-Academic team. The 2010-11 season was capped by the Warhawks winning four of their final six games, while also welcoming Haley McIntyre and Carlie Ainsworth into the program’s 1,000-Point Club.
During the 2009-10 campaign, Davis guided AUM to a 15-15 record and a tie for fourth place in the SSAC standings. Highlighting the season was a 73-49 defeat of perennial conference powerhouse, Lee University. In addition, Cassie Moore earned honorable mention All-America honors, while also being named the SSAC’s Defensive Player of the Year.
In his first season, Davis served as interim head women’s basketball coach and led the Warhawks to a NAIA National Tournament appearance and a 20-9 overall record. Under his leadership, AUM led the SSAC in scoring defense and 3-point field goal percentage, while ranking second in field goal percentage, defensive field goal percentage and defensive 3-point field goal percentage. Moore earned Third-Team All-American honors, while the Warhawks finished the season ranked 25th in the nation.
Prior to his arrival at AUM, Davis spent five years at Providence Christian Academy in Lilburn, Ga., as the head coach of the girls’ basketball team from 2002-07. During his time with PCA, Davis coached seven all-county and all-region performers, two all-state players and one region player of the year. He helped the Stars to a 65-63 overall record during his tenure, while also serving as the school’s athletic director from 2005-07.
Davis has also made coaching stops at South Gwinnett High School in Snellville, Ga., where he was head coach of the boys’ junior varsity basketball team and Grayson High School in Loganville, Ga., where he was head coach of the boys’ basketball varsity squad.
Along with his coaching duties, Davis has been active in the community, as well as professional organizations. He has worked locally with the YMCA, American Red Cross and Christ Community Church, and was selected one of 16 professional men in Montgomery for the Real Men Wear Pink campaign for breast cancer research in 2015. He has directed numerous youth camps and has been on staff at camps hosted by the University of Tennessee, University of Georgia and Florida State University. Davis was invited to the prestigious WBCA Center for Coaching Excellence camp and has chaired both the SSAC Women’s Basketball committee and the Russell Athletic/WBCA National Coach of the Year committee.
Before joining the coaching ranks, Davis was a four-year member of the AUM men’s basketball team, playing for legendary Warhawks’ Head Coach Larry Chapman. During his AUM career, the team played in the NAIA National Tournament, won the NAIA Southeast Region and were the Southern States Conference Champions. Davis graduated from AUM in 1999 with a degree in secondary education and social sciences.
Davis is married to the former Christi Shirley. The couple has four children, Abigail, Cooper and twins, Nash and Tate.
