Doug Haynes has been named the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Women’s Basketball East District Coach of the Year for the fifth year in a row, according to a Mar. 16 announcement from the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI). Haynes, who is also a CCRI Hall of Famer and former two-sport athlete at the college, has led the women’s basketball program to five straight NJCAA Region XXI championships and five consecutive appearances in the NJCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament.
This recognition highlights CCRI’s continued success in junior-college athletics and underscores its commitment to developing local talent. Haynes said, “I owe this award to the teams that made it to the nationals. I’m very proud of this program for what we’ve accomplished. My goal was to build a program with Rhode Island kids and play at the national level and we have done it.”
Haynes holds a record of 125-71 as head coach, surpassing previous records set by Marcus Reilly. Since returning to his alma mater in 2018, he has guided CCRI back to regional prominence after leading them to their first regional championship since 2013 within four years. Over the past five years, following a season canceled due to COVID-19, his teams have gone 107-33 overall and an undefeated 58-0 in Region XXI play. The Knights have won 64 consecutive games against regional opponents, culminating with this year’s tournament win over Holyoke Community College.
As a student-athlete at CCRI from 1987–1989, Haynes scored over one thousand points in basketball and earned All-American honors in baseball before being inducted into CCRI’s Hall of Fame in 1995. His coaching career began at St. Mary Academy-Bay View where he won two state championships and was named Rhode Island Interscholastic League Division I Coach of the Year seven times.
Off the court, Haynes’ players have also excelled academically; since 2021, five student-athletes have received NJCAA Academic All-American honors for maintaining GPAs above 3.60. “One of our priorities is making sure each player gets her degree and that the ones who continue their athletic career at a four-year institution have the opportunity to do so,” Haynes said.
The Community College of Rhode Island operates campuses across Warwick, Lincoln, Providence, Newport, Westerly, and Woonsocket according to its official website. The college offers more than 200 degree and certificate programs according to its official website and supports community development through initiatives like free tuition for recent high school graduates under the Rhode Island Promise program according to its official website. Rosemary A. Costigan became both CCRI’s sixth president and its first alumna president according to its official website.
Looking ahead, Haynes remains focused on building future success both on and off the court: “CCRI gave me a second chance with my academic and athletic career, and the positive role models I had during my time at CCRI has allowed me to instill the values I learned in the players we coach today.”
