Shaw University

Ebony Tanner enters her first season as head coach of the Shaw University women’s basketball program in 2026-27, bringing more than two decades of coaching and playing experience at the collegiate and professional levels.

Tanner becomes the first woman to lead the historic program. 

Tanner arrives at Shaw following two seasons as head coach at Elizabeth City State University, where she continued to build the Lady Vikings program against the highly competitive CIAA landscape. During the 2025-26 campaign, the Lady Vikings posted non-conference victories over Converse and UNC Pembroke while also featuring a balanced offensive attack with four players averaging more than eight points per game and were led on the glass by CIAA All-Rookie selection Tionna Pettus.

Prior to ECSU, Tanner served as head coach at Saint Augustine's University, where she guided the Falcons to steady improvement during her tenure. Tanner led Saint Augustine’s to its first winning season since 2010-11 during the 2023-24 campaign. Her teams became known for their aggressive defensive style, ranking among the nation’s leaders in turnovers forced while producing multiple All-CIAA and All-Rookie performers.

Tanner is no stranger to Shaw University, previously spending four seasons on the Lady Bears coaching staff as the program’s top assistant coach. During her time in Raleigh, she helped the program remain among the CIAA’s top contenders while assisting in recruiting, player development, scouting, and postseason preparation, while also winning the 2008 CIAA Championship.

Before returning to the CIAA ranks, Tanner served as an assistant coach at the University of Hartford, helping guide the Hawks to an America East semifinal appearance. She also spent eight seasons on staff at her alma mater, the University of Richmond, contributing to three 20-win seasons and six postseason appearances in the WNIT.

As a student-athlete at Richmond, Tanner established herself as one of the program’s top performers. A two-time All-Atlantic 10 selection, she finished her career ranked among the school’s all-time leaders in rebounds, blocked shots, field goal percentage, and scoring. Following her collegiate career, Tanner played professionally overseas in Israel and Greece.

A native of Garner, North Carolina, Tanner earned her bachelor’s degree in Interpersonal Communication and Speech Rhetoric from Richmond in 2003.