Raina Harmon is hitting the ground running as Florida Gulf Coast University’s women’s basketball coach. Less than four weeks into her new role, she has surrounded herself with four quality assistant coaches, two of whom are former Eagles.
Will McIntyre from Rutgers, Tyler Johnson from IU Indy, Sydnei McCaskill from North Florida, and Jaqelle Silver-Martin were all announced on April 29 by the university.
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“I’m incredibly excited to welcome these four coaches to FGCU,” said Harmon. “Each of these hires brings something special to the table and, more importantly, they all align with the culture and vision we’re building at the Nest.”
McCaskill has spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator with North Florida. McCaskill helped mold an Osprey, Alexa Washington, into an ASUN All-Freshmen honoree who broke the UNF record for the most made 3-pointers in a single game with 10.
Prior to UNF, she spent one season as an assistant coach with Marshall University. In her first and only season, she helped guide the Thundering Herd to a 17-14 overall record and a 9-9 record in conference play.
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She earned her role with the Thundering Herd after spending the 2019-202 2seasons as video coordinator and director of operations with FGCU under Karl Smesko. McCaskill was responsible for scouting and breaking down film of opponents and played scout team defense at times.
She was on the staff when FGCU pulled off its NCAA First Round win over Virginia Tech in 2022. In her four years as a coach at FGCU, she helped lead the Green and Blue to four ASUN championships, three NCAA tournament appearances, and multiple top-25 victories.
As a player, McCaskill spent her first two seasons at Georgia before transferring to FGCU for her final two years of eligibility. She made 46 appearances in a reserve role with the Eagles, helping FGCU become WNIT runner-ups in 2015-16 and followed with an NCAA tournament appearance in 2016-17.
Raina Harmon speaks as she’s introduced as the new head coach for Florida Gulf Coast’s women’s basketball team at The Boardwalk restaurant in Fort Myers, Fla., on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
“As both a former player and coach here, Syd has already left a tremendous mark on this program, contributing to some of the most successful seasons in our history,” Harmon said. “Her deep connections across the state of Florida and her proven ability to recruit and develop talent will be a tremendous asset as we look to build on the incredible championship foundation that has been established. Syd understands what it means to be an Eagle, and I couldn’t be more excited to have her back on staff.”
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Janelle Silver-Martin was a WBCA 30-under-30 selection and a National Basketball Coaches Academy participant with Morgan State in 2024. Silver-Martin has spent the last two seasons with the Bears as an assistant coach.Prior to Morgan State, Silver-Martin spent two seasons as the director of basketball operations at the University of Richmond. The Spiders made the second round of the WNIT in 2023. Silver-Martin made three stops before coming back to Fort Myers, spending the 2020-21 season as an assistant coach for Valdosta State.
Raina Harmon speaks with players after being introduced as the new head coach for Florida Gulf Coast’s women’s basketball team at The Boardwalk restaurant in Fort Myers, Fla., on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
In 2019-20, Silver-Martin was the video coordinator for a 30-3 FGCU Eagles squad, which won an ASUN regular-season title before the remainder of the season was canceled due to COVID-19. Her first coaching staff job was as an assistant coach at Washington Adventist University before Smekso took her under his wing a year later in 2019.
Collegiately, she played guard at Ohio, Morgan State, and St. Thomas. She graduated from St. Thomas in 2018 with her master’s in sports administration.
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“Janelle is truly the full package — she has a sharp basketball mind, great organizational skills, and a clear understanding of what it takes to thrive in a winning program,” Harmon said. “During her time here as video coordinator under coach Smesko, she was part of a period of tremendous success and she continued to grow and excel at Richmond, another highly successful program. Janelle’s experience, work ethic, and commitment to excellence will be a huge asset to our staff and our players.”
At Rutgers, McIntire served as director of scouting and technology. Previously, he spent four seasons with Iowa in various roles, including scouting, coordinating recruiting visits, managing practice, and advising on scheduling and training.
“Will is one of the hardest-working young coaches I’ve been around,” said Harmon. “He has a great basketball mind, builds strong relationships and will be instrumental in helping us shape the identity of this team.”
From IU Indy, Tyler Johnson was video coordinator for the Jags. Prior to moving to the Hoosier state, Johnson helped the Ohio University as a graduate assistant while earning his master’s in coaching education.
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“While Tyler is early in his career, he’s one of those young coaches who just gets it. He brings incredible energy, a team-first mentality and a hunger to learn and grow. I’m excited to watch him flourish in this role,” said Harmon.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: FGCU women’s basketball coach Raina Harmon adds four to staff, including 2 former Eagles
