J.D. Byers joined VCU as an assistant coach in April of 2017 after serving three seasons under Rams’ Head Coach Mike Rhoades at Rice.
At VCU, Byers served as recruiting coordinator for the Rams' 2019 class that ranked among the best in the Atlantic 10 and the top 50 nationally. His efforts help stock VCU's roster with the players who would capture the Rams' first outright A-10 regular season championship and return the Rams to the NCAA Tournament in 2018-19.
Byers' work over the course of a nearly 15-year coaching career has not gone unnoticed. In 2020, Byers was named one of 50 Impactful Mid-Major Assistant Coaches by Silver Waves Media. In addition, he was among a select group of assistants chosen to participate in the 2020 TopConnect Virtual Seminar. Formerly known as Villa 7, TopConnect identifies the top basketball assistant coaches in the country and connects them with mid-major Athletic Directors to provide networking opportunities for both parties.
Byers previously helped Rhoades resurrect the a moribund Rice program. In three seasons (2014-17) the Owls improved by 18 wins. That success culminated in a 23-12 campaign in 2016-17 that included a berth in the College Basketball Invitational. It was Rice’s first 20-win season since 2003-04. During his Rice tenure, Byers also aided the development of two-time All-Conference USA First Team guard Marcus Evans.
Prior to joining the Owls, Byers spent three seasons at Radford under Mike Jones, another former VCU assistant, where he helped turn around that program. The Highlanders won just six games in Byers’ first season but greatly improved in each of his following seasons on staff, culminating with 22 wins and Radford’s first postseason win in its NCAA Division I era in 2013-14.
Prior to serving at Radford, Byers spent the 2010-11 season as an assistant coach at St. Francis (Pa.) following three seasons at Randolph-Macon College, including two years under Mike Rhoades. The Yellow Jackets won 66 games during his time on the bench and advanced to the NCAA Division III Final Four in 2010.
Upon his 2005 graduation from Lebanon Valley College, Byers spent one season at Fairleigh Dickinson-Madison as a graduate assistant before returning to his alma mater as an assistant coach for one year.
The 2005 NABC All-American and CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year honoree claimed the Jostens Trophy, given annually to the top Division III basketball student-athlete. Along with Rhoades, Byers is one of five men's basketball players to have his jersey (No. 23) retired by Lebanon Valley.
Byers graduated Summa Cum Laude from Lebanon Valley in 2005 with a degree in accounting and business administration, and earned his MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson in 2008. Byers and Marci Jenkins, head volleyball coach at Virginia Tech, wed in November of 2017. They welcomed a daughter, Kamryn, in 2019.
J.D. Byers - Coaching History
2005-06 - Fairleigh Dickinson-Madison, Graduate Assistant
2006-07 - Lebanon Valley, Assistant Coach
2007-10 - Randolph-Macon, Assistant Coach
2010-11 - St. Francis (Pa.), Assistant Coach
2011-14 - Radford, Assistant Coach
2014-17 - Rice, Assistant Coach
2017-pres. – VCU, Assistant Coach
