Head Coach
Nick Woodruff
Head Men's Basketball Coach
Nick Woodruff is the 12th head coach of the UWA men’s basketball team, entering his fourth season at the helm of the program in 2023-24. In his time as head coach, the Tigers have won back-to-back GSC Championships (2022-23) and the GSC Tournament Championship in 2023.
Winning two GSC Coach of the Year honors in 2022 and 2023, Woodruff has a career record of 59-19.
The 2023 season saw records fall for the program, including most wins (27) and GSC wins (19), as West Alabama secured its second straight regular season crown. The Tigers rolled past Union, Lee and West Georgia for the team's first tournament championship since 1982. Justin Allison was named the Most Outstanding Player of the championship, averaging under 19 points per game and shot 47% from the floor.
Earning the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Championships, the Tigers made it to the regional semifinals after defeating Tuskegee.
Along with Shardarrion Allen repeating as an All-GSC selection, Woodruff also went back-to-back in Coach of the Year honors.
During the 2021-22 season, the Tigers were GSC Regular Season Champions with Woodruff being named GSC Coach of the Year. UWA ended the season with a 24-7 overall record and went 16-4 in GSC play with a south regional tournament appearance. The Tigers had two All-Gulf South Conference members, Shardarrion Allen and Kourtrijk Miles.
His first season as head coach was shortened due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but Woodruff still had a successful season. The Tigers ended the 2020-21 season 8-6 overall and 7-5 in conference with a championship tournament appearance. UWA also had two 2021 All-GSC West Division Team members in Shardarrion Allen and Kourtrijk Miles.
Before being elevated to head coach, Woodruff served on previous head coach Allen Sharpe’s staff for six years, including the last five as associate head coach. Before coming to West Alabama, he spent four years on Sharpe’s staff at Arkansas-Monticello.
With an active hand in all facets of the day-to-day operations of the West Alabama program, Woodruff is generally credited with recruiting much of the talent that has led the Tigers to 108 victories (18 per season), two Gulf South Conference championships, and three 20-plus win seasons over the last six years.
Woodruff graduated Cum Laude in Business from Muskingum (Ohio) College in 2009, where he lettered four seasons on the men’s basketball team. He earned his Master of Business Administration from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock in 2011.
A native of Oxford, Ohio, Woodruff and his wife, Kristen, now reside in Livingston with their son, Steven, and daughter Sloane.