This past spring, P.K. Yonge girls basketball coach Willie Powers announced he was leaving his alma mater after 21 years at the helm.
Powers, the winningest head basketball coach in P.K. Yonge girls basketball history, is the new head coach of the Williston girls basketball program.
On Tuesday, Jazzmin Bethea was hired to lead the Lady Blue Wave basketball program into its next chapter.
“We are excited to have Coach Bethea lead a new era of Blue Wave girls basketball,” said P.K. Yonge Director and Superintendent Brian Marchman. “With experience in player development and building winning teams, she promises to build a program in which our student-athletes will thrive and make P.K. Yonge proud.”
With more than 10 years of basketball coaching experience, Bethea will bring a proven record of winning and player development to the Blue Wave girls basketball program.
“I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to take on this job as the new head basketball coach,” said Bethea, who was the girls head coach at Meadowbrook Academy (Ocala) last year. “I look forward to bringing my dedication and passion to the team.”
She takes over a program that has consistently been in the postseason, including a first round Class 3A playoff win against Bradford (Starke) this past season. The Blue Wave came within a game of the final four in 2023.
“What intrigued me about the position was remembering P.K. as they were when I was in school,” she said. “I always wanted to play them. We just never did. I remember playing against some of their top players in AAU. I want to help bring the program back to where they were back then.”
Bethea, who is well known as a coach in the AAU basketball program in North Central Florida, is a 2010 graduate of Vanguard (Ocala), where she was a four-year starter and a three-year captain.
As a senior, she helped lead the Knights (31-1) to an unbeaten regular season and the Class 5A state semifinals in Lakeland, where they lost to eventual state champion Norland (Miami).
“I felt I had to carry my team that year,” she said.
Bethea led the team in scoring (17.6 points per game) and field goal percentage (55%) as a senior and led the Knights in scoring (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.6 rpg) as a junior.
She also attended Middle Georgia State University and was a three-year starter for its basketball team.
“Coach Bethea will continue to build on the foundation of holistic development on and off the court for those in the girls basketball program,” said P.K. Yonge Athletics Director Valerie Flournoy. “I look forward to having the entire Blue Wave family supporting Coach Bethea and the Blue Wave student-athletes.”
Bethea, who begins her head basketball coaching duties immediately, is optimistic heading into her first season.
“I honestly don’t feel like I will have a big challenge,” she said. “I feel like I can overcome any obstacle.”