Lackawanna College

Head Women's Basketball Coach Joya Whittington heads into her 8th season at the helm of the Falcons program for the 2021-2022 season.

In her time at Lackawanna College, coach Whittington has compiled some impressive wins and accomplishments, including three NJCAA National Tournament appearances, and three District Championships. Coach Whittington has an overall record of 149-54 as the head coach at Lackawanna College, a .734 winning percentage. In her time at Lackawanna College, coach Whittington has coached four NJCAA Division II All-Americans.

Whittington first joined Lackawanna College as its Head Women’s Basketball Coach in the fall of 2013. In her first year, Whittington took a program that was sub .500 just a year before and improved them to 18-10, with a Region XIX semi-final appearance to close out their season. Coach Whittington would improve her Falcons squad the next year, leading Lackawanna College to a 23-6 record, earning an appearance in the Region XIX championship game, and making the District semi-finals. Whittington's quick success translated into opportunities elsewhere, and, in the spring of 2015, she accepted an offer to coach at the Division I level as an assistant coach for the 2015-2016 season with Lamar University in Beaumont, TX. 

As fate would have it, coach Whittington would return to Lackawanna College to take up the reins of the Women's Basketball program again, just one season later, in the 2016-2017 season. Whittington led the program back to post-season play with a highly successful year, guiding the Falcons to a 19-12 overall record, which included a Region XIX semi-final appearance, a District O Championship, and a berth in the NJCAA Division II National Tournament. The Falcons traveled to Harrison, AR to participate, where they lost to the eventual national runner–up, Johnson County College. Coach Whittington was named District Coach of the Year for her efforts.

The next three seasons saw a run where the Falcons never won less than 25 games and earned another NJCAA Tournament appearance. In 2017-2018, the Falcons were dominant throughout the regular season, but fell short of expectations in the Region XIX and District tournaments. Whittington and company used that fire to fuel an historic run the next year, as the Falcons won 27 games, won a District championship, and then won two straight games at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament to earn a spot in the semi-finals. The Falcons would finish fourth in the national tournament. For their efforts in the 2018-2019 season, the Falcons earned coach Whittington her second District Coach of the Year honors.

The Falcons would win another 25 games under coach Whittington in the 2019-2020 season, and finish as the Region XIX runner-up, while making another District tournament appearance before bowing out in the semi-finals.

The COVID-19 impacted 2020-2021 season saw the Falcons finish just 12-6, but coach Whittington once again guided the Falcons to a Region XIX championship game, a District East B Championship, and another NJCAA National Tournament berth. For the third time in her career, coach Whittington was named the District Coach of the Year. 

In addition to her coaching role at Lackawanna College, coach Whittington has also served in roles off the court. She has spent time as Senior Women's Administrator, where she served as a mentor for Lackawanna College women’s sports programs and provided leadership to other coaches within the department. In June 2017, coach Whittington was named as the Director of Athletics for Lackawanna College, and oversaw significant success in Falcons' athletics, including Lackawanna College baseball's run to the NJCAA Division II College World Series in 2019, and Lackawanna College Football's unbeaten run of 21 straight games spanning two seasons, including an El Toro Bowl win in 2018 and an NJCAA National Championship Game appearance in 2019.  In February 2021, Whittington transitioned to her new role as the Lackawanna College Director of Student Financial Services.  

Whittington was a student-athlete at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pa. During her collegiate career, Joya helped propel the team to their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in the 2009-10 season. In her junior and senior seasons, she served as team captain, and as a senior guided the Griffins to a 23-win season and the semifinals of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament. Over her four-year career, Whittington played in 112 career games, scored 548 career points, and secured 470 rebounds. She also had 155 assists and 112 steals.

She earned a Business degree from Seton Hill University in 2011. Upon graduation, Whittington joined the coaching ranks as an assistant women’s basketball coach for the Griffins. She also obtained an MBA with a specialization in Entrepreneurial Studies from Seton Hill University in 2013.

A native of Northeast PA, Whittington graduated from Carbondale Area High School in 2007. In her time there, she excelled in women’s basketball, became a member of the school’s “Thousand Point Club”, and was a starter on the team that won a district championship and two conference titles. She currently resides in Carbondale.