On September 16, 2013, Jamie Craighead was named the eighth head women's basketball coach at San José State University.
Entering 2021-22, her ninth season leading the Spartans, Craighead's teams have set and then broken the program’s record for points scored in a season, and in 2019-20 set a San José State and Mountain West Conference single-game record when the Spartans scored 128 points in a win over La Verne.
Under Craighead’s guidance the Spartans have reached the semifinals of the 2015 and 2020 Mountain West Tournaments. These trips marked just the second and third times in the 42-year history of the program that the team advanced that far in its conference tournament. In addition, the team’s 19 wins on the 2019-20 campaign were the program's most since the 1979-80 team won 22 games.
The 2013-14 squad established single-season marks for free throws attempted (726) and made (493) as well as three-pointers attempted (793) and made (245). In 2014-15, the Spartans set new marks for three-pointers attempted (872) and made (271) in addition to total field goal attempts (2,262).
Her most successful team to date, the 2019-20 squad owned the nation's largest single-season win turnaround, going from six victories in 2018-19 to 19 wins the following year. Led by the youngest coaching staff in the Mountain West, the 2019-20 Spartans finished in a tie for third place in the Mountain West standings, the best-ever finish for a team picked last in the conference's preseason poll.
In her eight seasons, Craighead’s players have earned 11 conference post-season awards for their play on the court. In addition, they have earned 36 Academic All-Mountain West (3.0+ GPA), 14 Mountain West Scholar-Athlete honors (3.5+ GPA), six Dean’s Scholar (3.65+ GPA) and four President’s Scholar designation (4.0 GPA+) as well as nine Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sport-Scholar Award and a first-team Capital One Academic All-District VIII honor. Finally student athletes, Ta’Rea Cunnigan, the school’s all-time leader in scoring, and Emily Vann graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Craighead came to San José State after spending four seasons at Sacramento State (2010-13), where she was the winningest women's head basketball coach in 20 years and the only coach to post a winning conference record at Sacramento State since they entered the Big Sky Conference in the 1996-97 season. Under her guidance the Hornets reached the Big Sky Conference Tournament for just the fifth (2012) and sixth (2013) times in program history. In those appearances, Sacramento State earned its first tournament wins and reached the semi-final round both years.
The youngest head coach in Division I when she took over the Hornets, Craighead's teams, playing a fast-break type offense, led the Big Sky Conference in scoring in each of her four seasons.
Sacramento State set several program records in 2012-13 including field goals made, assists, blocked shots and fewest turnovers committed. In addition, the team's 19 wins equaled the program's single-season record, which was set in the 1990-91 season. The Hornets led the Big Sky in points, 3-pointers, and assists and on the defensive end, topped the league in steals and blocks.
Also in 2012-13, Craighead coached Kylie Kuhns and Megan Kritscher, two of the top post players in the Big Sky Conference. Kuhns, at only six feet tall, broke the school and Big Sky career rebounding records during the year, while also leading the team in scoring. For her efforts, Kuhns earned All-Big Sky first-team honors. Kritscher shattered the Big Sky single-season blocks record and ranked fourth in the NCAA in blocks per game for the season.
In four seasons, nine of her players garnered All-Big Sky honors. She coached 2011-12 Big Sky Freshman of the Year Fantasia Hilliard, and 23 of her athletes received Academic All-Big Sky Conference honors for their work in the classroom.
Prior to accepting the top job at Sacramento State, Craighead spent the 2007-08 season as an assistant for the Hornets before being promoted to Associate Head Coach the following year.
Craighead started her coaching career in 2002 under two-time NCAA Division II Coach of the Year Gordy Presnell at Seattle Pacific University. In her three years at SPU, the team posted an 89-5 record, won three PacWest Conference titles, qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament each year and reached the championship game in 2005. After her success in Seattle, she spent two seasons as an assistant at Portland State University before taking a position at Sacramento State.
As a collegiate player at the University of Oregon, Craighead led the Ducks to the 2002 WNIT championship after three appearances in the NCAA Tournament. When she finished her career, her 182 3-point field goals made ranked second all-time in Ducks history.
Craighead earned honorable mention Academic All-Pac-10 honors as a senior and graduated from Oregon with a bachelor's degree in educational studies in 2002. She is a native of Elma, Wash.