Ponchatoula native Hailey Giaratano joined the McNeese women’s basketball coaching staff in April (2025), bringing with her a decorated playing and early coaching career at the Division I level.
Giaratano spent the 2024-25 season as an assistant coach/director of player development at Southeastern, where she transitioned seamlessly from player to coach following a standout five-year career with the Lady Lions.
As a student-athlete, she played a key role in elevating the SLU program to new heights—helping lead the team to four consecutive winning seasons and its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023 after capturing both the Southland Conference regular-season and tournament championships.
A versatile and consistent guard, Giaratano finished her playing career as the program's all-time leader in free throw percentage (80.0) and earned numerous accolades, including Southland Tournament MVP, three-time All-Conference selection, and SLC All-Academic honors. She reached the 1,000-point milestone and set a school record with 109 consecutive starts, exemplifying her durability and leadership on the court.
Off the court, Giaratano was deeply involved in student-athlete leadership, serving on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for five years. She held key leadership roles as the Mental Health Chair and later as SAAC President in her final year, championing community service initiatives and student well-being and representing the voice of her peers at the institutional level.
Giaratano graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences in 2022 and earned her MBA in 2023. She now brings that same drive, poise, and understanding of the game into her coaching role, where she continues to develop and mentor student-athletes at the highest level of collegiate basketball.
In her time on the coaching staff at Southeastern in the 2024-2025 season, the team posted a 26-6 overall record and a 19-1 mark in SLC play. SLU also received a bid to the WBIT where they played Colorado.
In 2025, Giaratano coached Alexius Horne who was named SLC Player of the Year and Jalencia Pierre, the SLC Defensive Player of the Year.
Giaratano is engaged to Hunter Hollie.
GIARATANO COACHING FILE
College Coaching Eperience
2026- Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development (McNeese)
2024-25 Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development (Southeastern)
COLLEGE PLAYING CAREER
2020-2024 (Southeastern)
CAREER HONORS
• All-SLC (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
• SLC All-Tournament (2022)
• SLC Tournament MVP (2023)
• All-Louisiana (2022, 2023)
• SLC All-Academic (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
• SLC Commissioner's Honor Roll (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
• College Sports Communicators Academic All-District (2023)
