MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia gymnastics coach Jason Butts has announced the hiring of former Mountaineer NCAA All-American Zaakira Muhammad as an assistant coach Monday.
Muhammad, a four-year letterwinner at WVU from 2015-18, returns to Morgantown after serving as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan last season. The Pennsauken, N.J., native will assist the Mountaineers on the coaching of all four events and oversee the team’s community service outreach program.
“I am absolutely thrilled to welcome Zaakira as our new assistant coach,” Butts said. “Along with being a Mountaineer alum and an NCAA All-American, Zaakira has spent two seasons coaching at the Division I level and putting together an impressive set of skills. She will make an immediate impact on our program on all four competitive events, as well as recruiting. She also brings a new perspective to the staff and team.
“Zaakira’s experience as a former Mountaineer student-athlete will help with a smooth transition, and it enables her to build on the legacy she has already established. She is a very motivated and capable coach, and I am so excited about the future of the program with her on board.”
“It’s a tremendous opportunity to be back at the place that molded me to become who I am today,” Muhammad said. “I am honored and excited to join the staff at WVU and create new memories with this amazing team and staff.”
While at Eastern Michigan, Muhammad assisted in the team’s choreography for balance beam and floor exercise, as well as the Eagles’ recruiting efforts. She also coordinated all team activities.
EMU claimed three team victories in a season cut short due to COVID-19. Individually, Muhammad helped coach a pair of gymnasts to All-Mid-American Conference second team honors.
Muhammad began her coaching career at Temple as a graduate assistant who was responsible for coaching the Owls on vault. In her first season, she helped TU claim its first-ever Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship title in school history. She also assisted in coaching three individual gymnasts at the 2019 NCAA Athens Regional, including ECAC Rookie of the Year Ariana Castrence on vault. Temple ended the year ranked inside the top 50 of the Road to Nationals Rankings, its highest ranking in more than 20 years.
While at WVU, Muhammad competed in 51 career meets and totaled 1,552.8125 points for the Mountaineers. She also ranks No. 10 in program history with 16 career scores of 9.9 or better and No. 9 with six career vault scores of 9.9 or better. Muhammad finished her career with 75 podium finishes and 20 event wins.
