DR. KENDRA SAMUELS-EATON
Head Coach
A 12-year coaching veteran, Kendra Samuels-Eaton was named the 10th head women's basketball coach on March 18, 2024.
Samuels-Eaton returns to Pembroke after serving as the associate head coach at her alma mater, Western Carolina for the last two season. Before returning to Western Carolina, she spent four seasons on the coaching staff at UNC Pembroke, serving as the assistant coach for three seasons before being named the associate head coach in 2020. While on staff at UNCP, Samuels-Eaton played an integral role during the recruiting process for juniors Zaria Clark and Kelci Adams, along with seniors Aniah McManus, Alcenia Purnell and Courtney Smith.
Prior to joining the Eagles’ staff at North Carolina Central, Samuels-Eaton spent one year as the coordinator of basketball operations at Wake Forest. In this capacity, she handled the day-to-day operations of the team, including coordinating team travel, supervising non-coaching personnel, arranging community service activities and assisting with on-campus recruiting. She also helped develop content for the Wake Forest women’s basketball recruiting website.
Samuels-Eaton previously served two years in the academic support office at her alma mater Western Carolina and worked as an intern in the women’s basketball office at the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the summer of 2009 working under Nora Lynn Finch. While there, she helped facilitate the officiating camp and assisted with the ACC Tournament.
Samuels-Eaton earned her bachelor’s degree in sport management with a concentration in athletic administration and professional sport with a minor in marketing and coaching from Western Carolina in 2009. She was a four-year letterwinner for the Catamounts’ women’s basketball squad and became the 22nd member of the 500-point club. She appeared in 117 games over four years and wrapped up her career with 721 points and 524 rebounds. In her senior season, Samuels-Eaton led the Catamounts to a SoCon Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament berth.
Samuels-Eaton earned a master’s degree in physical education and sport science from Central Missouri in 2011, where she specialized in athletics and sport business administration. She received her doctoral degree at East Tennessee State in Global Sport Leadership in May 2024.
A Winston-Salem, North Carolina native, Samuels-Eaton tallied over 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds at Mount Tabor High School, where she was named the Metro 4A Player of the Year as a senior. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Inc., Pi Gamma Chapter. Eaton attended the 2014 NCAA Women’s Coaches Academy in Denver, Colorado and most recently was invited and attended the 2017 NCAA/Women’s Leaders in College Sports Women’s Leadership Symposium.
DONALD BOHANNON
Associate Head Coach
Having served a variety of positions with both the men’s and women’s basketball programs for five seasons, Donald Bohannon enters his eighth year on the women’s basketball coaching staff in 2023-24, but his third as a full-time assistant coach for the Braves.
Bohannon’s roots with the women’s basketball program date all the way back to the 2016-17 campaign when he served a graduate assistant coach role with the Black & Gold. He was promoted to a full-time position as coordinator of basketball operations for both the men’s and women’s squads in time for the 2018 season, while also serving as an assistant coach for both teams during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign as well.
The coaching veteran played an integral part of an historic 2022-23 campaign that saw UNCP stake claim at the Conference Carolinas Tournament championship and the 49-year-old program’s first NCAA Tournament berth. UNCP also finished the season ranked fourth, nationally, in field goal percentage defense and sixth, nationally, in scoring defense.
A Wilmington native, he has been at the forefront of more than 80 victories during his time in Pembroke, including a 19-win season during the 2021-22 season. The Black & Gold also tallied 11 wins on the home floor, which marked the most since Bohannon's first season in 2016-17. Bohannon also played a keyl part of the success during the 2021-22 season that landed the Braves a spot at 16th nationally for best scoring defense percentage. During the 2019-20 season, the Braves recorded an 11-win campaign while registering their first winning record at home in three seasons. Since joining the Braves in 2016, the Black & Gold have had six all-conference players, 1 Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year, and seven Conference Carolinas weekly award winners.
Prior to his trek to Pembroke, Bohannon attained valuable coaching experience on the prep level, first as an assistant coach with the junior varsity program at John T. Hoggard High School in Wilmington, and then as a junior varsity assistant with nearby E.A. Laney High School.
Bohannon earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from UNC Wilmington in 2014, and completed his master’s degree in sports administration at UNCP in 2018. He has also served as an adjunct instructor in UNCP’s Kinesiology Department since 2019.
