ETSU women’s basketball head coach Brenda Mock Brown added a familiar face to her coaching staff on April 27, 2023, officially announcing Joy Tharrington to the women's basketball staff in the role of Director of Player Development.

Tharrington reunites with Coach Mock after three successful years as the head coach at Lancaster Bible College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Prior to becoming a head coach at the NCAA Division III level, Tharrington served as an assistant under Mock at UNC Asheville from 2016-2020. She started her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Liberty University from 2014-16.

In nine years of coaching, Tharrington has enjoyed nine winning seasons.

“This is a great day for ETSU women’s basketball as we are welcoming not only one of the finest coaches in the business, but an amazing individual,” said Mock at the time of hire. “Joy brings tremendous experience to our staff having spent the last three seasons at the helm of her own program, as well as numerous years in the Division I ranks. Her ability and desire to connect with student-athletes and help them be their best selves every day will continue to propel us forward in this program. When we were creating this position, I was looking for someone who prioritized servant leadership and has a heart for launching others around them. Joy’s experience and strengths in this area will be extremely valuable to our women’s basketball program and the ETSU community.”

While working under Mock in her first full-time coaching role, Tharrington served as the recruiting coordinator and assistant coach for a program that enjoyed four consecutive winning seasons, three postseason tournament bids, two appearances in the Big South Conference championship game and one Big South Conference championship victory.

“I am thrilled for the opportunity to reunite with Coach Mock — my mentor in the profession and one who has had great influence on my coaching journey,” said Tharrington at the time of hire. “It is an honor to step into this new role under her leadership as I begin a new chapter with the ETSU family. My hope is that my experience and passion will assist our coaches and players in building on the great success that was established this past year. I can't wait to join Buc Nation!”

She departed her post at Lancaster Bible College with a 33-27 head coaching record over three seasons. The Chargers had three all-conference honorees over two full seasons (excluding the shortened COVID-19 season), with one Rookie of the Year award winner. She also served Lancaster in other capacities, including the Administrative Leadership Team as the Senior Woman Administrator and as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Advisor.

Prior to her coaching career, Tharrington was a student-athlete at both Richmond University (2008-10) and George Mason University (2011-13). While at George Mason, Tharrington served as team captain, and was the co-founder of the campus “Athletics in Action” group.

For more information on Buccaneer women’s hoops, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s basketball page.