Shillalie Jones officially became a Hillcat in August 2025 and will serve as the top assistant coach.
Jones wrapped up her eighth and final season as the assistant head coach at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) in 2024-25, where she helped lead the team to the Region II finals with a 16-3 conference record.
She guided the Lady Norse to multiple Region II Tournament appearances, including semifinals in 2023-24 and 2019-2020, and played a key role in their return to the tournament in 2021-2022. In 2018-19, she coached her sister, Jo'Nah Johnson, and the team finished runner-up with an impressive 22-9 record.
In 2018, Jones coached in the NJCAA Top 40 All-Star Game and led the Lady Norse to the semifinals the following season. In her first season, the team achieved a perfect 16-0 conference record, winning its fifth consecutive Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference title and finishing 27-5 overall.
Before NEO, she was an assistant coach at Garden City Community College during the 2016-17 season.
Jones began her coaching career in 2015 as the head freshman coach and assistant varsity coach at Midwest City High School. As head freshman coach, she led her team to a commendable record of 16-3 and assisted the varsity squad in winning a 6A state championship in 2016, finishing with a 25-4 record.
From 2009 to 2017, Jones was the head coach of Oklahoma Select, one of Oklahoma's leading AAU organizations, helping numerous athletes secure Division I, Division II and junior college scholarships while propelling several players into national rankings in the 2017 recruiting class.
Jones played collegiately at Seminole State College before transferring to Henderson State University for one year. She finished her collegiate career at Langston University, where she played a pivotal role in leading the team to a runner-up finish in the Red River Athletic Conference in 2014, securing a berth in the NAIA Nationals. Additionally, she was honored with the Champion of Character Award during the 2013-14 season.
A native of Oklahoma City, Jones was a standout player at Putnam City North High School, where she was a four-year varsity starter. She earned accolades including OCA All-State (2009), Big All-City (2009) and the Metro Athletic Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Year (2008 and 2009).
Jones resides in Owasso.
