Jhasmin Monk, formally Bowen, enters her fifth season as an assistant coach at WKU in 2022-23 and her seventh season overall on The Hill after spending two seasons as a graduate assistant with the Lady Toppers. In her time with WKU, Monk has seen WKU win over 100 games and three Conference USA titles.
The young Lady Topper 2021-22 squad featured just one upperclassman in Meral Abdelgawad to go along with five sophomores and six freshmen. Despite the youth, WKU reached 18 wins and finished fourth in the C-USA East division. WKU’s five true freshmen scored 52.3 percent of the team’s points, averaging 36.9 points per game. After starting the season 1-3, the Lady Toppers regrouped to rattle off 13 wins in the next 14 games that included a 7-0 start to C-USA play.
Monk and the WKU staff welcomed six freshmen to The Hill in 2020-21 for a shortened season due to COVID-19. The Lady Toppers were one of the youngest teams in the country and that youth showed with 14 games decided by less than 10 points, including six one-possession games.
In 2019-20, Monk helped coach the Lady Toppers to a 22-7 record overall and a perfect 13-0 home record. WKU extended its 20-win season streak to eight consecutive, a new program record.
In her first season as an assistant coach with the Lady Toppers, Monk helped to lead WKU to a 20-15 record, as the squad won six of its final eight games. WKU reached the semifinals of the C-USA Tournament before falling to eventual champion Rice and also made a run to the third round of the Postseason WNIT, knocking off Miami (Ohio) on the road and Morehead State inside Diddle Arena.
Monk served as the graduate assistant for the Lady Toppers in 2016-17 and 2017-18, helping WKU to a 51-16 record and two NCAA Tournament appearances after arriving on The Hill. The Lady Toppers earned the C-USA regular season championship after a 16-2 record in conference play in 2016-17 and claimed the C-USA Tournament championship in each of Bowen's seasons as a graduate assistant.
Prior to arriving at WKU, Monk enjoyed a four-year playing career at Arkansas and played under Collins, then an assistant coach with the Razorbacks, during her freshman season in 2011-12.
Monk, a native of Wichita, Kan., finished her career with the Razorbacks with six double-doubles and 37 double-digit scoring outings. The forward was named the MVP of the New Mexico Thanksgiving Tournament as a junior in 2013-14 after netting 20 points against Southeast Missouri State.
As a senior in 2014-15, Monk scored in double figures in 15 games, including a career-best 21 points in a win on the road at Alabama. Monk picked up a double-double in SEC play with 11 points and 10 rebounds at Missouri while also accomplishing the feat against Nicholls State (12 points, 10 rebounds) and at Tulsa (17 points, 12 rebounds).
In high school, Monk starred at Wichita Heights High School as a three-time all-city selection for the Falcons. As a 2011 McDonald's All-America nominee, Monk led the Falcons to the 6A state championship and tallied 23 points to lead all scorers in the title game. In addition to those honors, Monk was also a two-time First Team All-State selection, a First Team All-Metro selection and was named Vype Magazine's best player for the state of Kansas as a senior.
Monk earned her bachelor's degree in marketing from Arkansas in 2015 and has a master's degree from WKU.
Jhasmin is married to Marcus Monk. The couple was married in the summer of 2022.
