Payton named assistant women's basketball coach for Jaguars

By Madison Keel | Sports writer

The Augusta University women’s basketball team announced the addition of an assistant coach in Lindsey Payton.

Interim Coach Celeste Stewart announced on Sept. 28 that Payton will be assuming the assistant’s role.

“I'm excited to have Lindsey join our program,” Stewart said. “I believe she brings a dynamic to our team that will benefit us as a whole.”

Payton will be joining the Jaguars from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where she was the assistant coach to Krystle Evans. While in the assistant coach position in San Francisco, she helped the team to a third-place position in the Pacific West Conference and an 18-11 overall record. The Pac West is an NCAA Division II conference.

Prior to being at the Academy of Art University, Payton was a varsity graduate assistant coach for Sienna Heights University in Adrian, Mich. She worked with post players and was a recruiting specialist there.

Payton earned her master’s degree in business administration at Sienna Heights in 2020 and was also a part of the 50-14 record for her two seasons on the staff.

As a player, Payton attended Arizona Christian University in Glendale, Ariz., where she played forward. After a season, she went on to assume the role of student assistant for the 2017-18 season.  Payton earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a concentration in sports psychology in 2017 at ACU.

“Lindsey comes from a program that competed in the NCAA tournament,” Stewart said. “It shows that she has experienced what take it takes to compete at the highest level. Our goal is to continue to elevate as a program and to do so it's important to have staff who has the mentality to grow and elevate student athletes on and off the court."

The AU women’s basketball team will begin its season at Barton College on Nov. 11, at 8 p.m. The team’s first home game will take place Nov. 16 against Johnson C. Smith University at 5:30 p.m. in Christenberry Fieldhouse.

Contact Madison Keel mkeel@augusta.edu.

Lindsey Payton comes to Augusta University from San Francisco-based Academy of Art University, where she served as an assistant last season. (photo courtesy of AU Athletics)