Wichita State Athletics

Chester Nichols is in his third season as an assistant coach for the Wichita State women's basketball program.

Nichols came to Wichita State after spending the previous five seasons at West Virginia University as the associate head coach.

Prior to Wichita State, Nichols has held assistant positions at West Virginia (2014-19 & 2003-09), Michigan (2012-14), Kansas (2010-12) and UCF (2009-10).

A native of Ocala, Florida, he is widely considered one of the nation's top recruiters, and he played an instrumental role in bringing five top-20 recruiting classes to WVU. He was responsible for signing Kysre Gondrezick who became the 4th overall pick (Indiana Fever) in the WNBA Draft, the highest WNBA Draft pick in program history. During his first year back in Morgantown, the 2014-15 Mountaineers dominated inside with a school single-season record of 1,621 rebounds as West Virginia reached the WNIT Championship game. WVU deflected a program-best 242 blocks, breaking a record that stood for over 30 years. West Virginia’s 6.4 blocks per game led the Big 12 and ranked sixth nationally.

In 2015-16, Nichols assisted the Mountaineers to a 25-10 overall mark and a 12-6 third-place finish in the Big 12 Conference. The Mountaineers reached their 11th overall NCAA Tournament appearance and made their 10th consecutive postseason appearance. West Virginia advanced to the NCAA Championship Second Round after picking up a victory over Princeton. WVU led the nation with 6.5 blocked shots per game, which was a 2015-16 NCAA Statistical Award winner.

In his third season, West Virginia finished 24-11 and claimed the program’s first Big 12 Conference Tournament title after a historic run knocking off the tournament’s top three seeds (No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 2 Texas and No. 1 Baylor). The Mountaineers would advance to the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time overall and to the NCAA Second Round for the 10th time. In April 2017, Lanay Montgomery became the sixth Mountaineer to be selected in the WNBA Draft as the Seattle Storm picked her 30th overall in the third round. He was also responsible for signing two-time All Big 12 standout Naomi Davenport and the 2019 Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year Kari Niblack at WVU.

Nichols was a part of 42 wins in two seasons as assistant coach at Michigan. U-M completed the 2013-14 season with a 20-14 mark, making it to the third round of the WNIT. It was just the sixth 20-win season in the history of the program.
 
Nichols helped Michigan to one of its most successful seasons in program history during his first season in 2012-13, as the Wolverines tied program records for wins (22) and consecutive wins (10), and made just their third second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Nichols worked with the post players, helping seniors Rachel Sheffer and Nya Jordan earn All-Big Ten honorable mention. During his tenure with the Wolverines, he signed Big Ten standouts Shannon Smith and Siera Thompson.
 
Nichols joined Michigan’s staff after spending two seasons with the University of Kansas women's basketball program as the perimeter coach while assisting in the program's recruiting efforts.

In two seasons with the Jayhawks, Nichols helped KU to a combined 42-26 overall record while making postseason appearances in the WNIT (2011) and NCAA (2012) Tournaments. During the 2012 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, KU advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1998 and the third time in program history.
 
Nichols arrived in Lawrence, Kansas, after spending the 2009-10 season at UCF, where he served in a similar role with the Knights while serving as the recruiting coordinator. That season, UCF's recruiting class was ranked No. 44 in the nation and No. 2 in Conference USA by ESPN's Hoopgurlz. Prior to his year at UCF, Nichols spent the previous six seasons as an assistant coach at West Virginia.

During Nichols' tenure at WVU, the Mountaineers appeared in three NCAA Tournaments and advanced to the second round on two occasions. He also helped guide West Virginia to the championship game of the WNIT in 2005 and to the Big East Championship game in 2006. At WVU, Nichols helped sign five top-20 classes, which included eight All-Big East performers, a Big East Most Improved honor and a Big East Defensive Player of the Year. Nichols helped land and coach Mountaineer standouts Madina Ali, Chakhia Cole, Laquita Owens and Sarah Miles.
 
In the summer of 2008, Nichols was recognized as one of the nation's best assistant coaches by earning an invitation to Nike's prestigious Villa 7 Coaches Consortium in Beaverton, Oregon. Additionally, four players that Nichols signed or coached moved on to play professionally in the WNBA.
 
Prior to his time at WVU, Nichols worked with the adidas/Premier Players, an AAU organization in Ocala. He spent one season as the head coach of the Florida Starzz and chief evaluator of the Rookie Sensations.
 
Nichols also has worked as an assistant coach at Central Florida Community College, where he helped coach one NJCAA All-American and three Mid-Florida all-conference players.
 
Nichols is a 1997 graduate of Greenville College, where he played three seasons of varsity football while pursuing his degree in special education. Nichols married Sylvia Winston in May 2016. Nichols has one son, Jalen.