The Augusta University women’s basketball program has added Lindsey Payton as the new assistant coach, as announced by interim head coach Celeste Stewart. Lindsey joins the Jaguars from Academy of Art University, where she was an assistant last season.
“I am excited to have Lindsey Payton join our women’s basketball program” said Stewart. “I believe she brings a dynamic to our team that will benefit us in many ways. She has been a part of winning programs at the collegiate level, and I look forward to her bringing that experience to our team.”
During Payton’s time with the Academy of Art University, the team finished with an 18-11 overall record. She also helped them to a third place finish in the Pac West Conference and an NCAA tournament berth.
Before her time in San Francisco, Payton was a varsity graduate assistant women’s basketball coach and the junior varsity head coach for Siena Heights, Lindsey helped the program achieve a 50-14 record across two seasons. A historic 2019-20 run saw the Saints tie the program wins record, going 27-6 overall with an appearance in the NAIA Tournament and two All-Americans including Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Player of the Year Peyton Banks. In 2018-19, Siena Heights was led by a pair of All-Conference Team honorees, finishing 23-8 overall and reaching the WHAC Tournament. Payton was responsible for recruiting an average of 10 players per year and, in addition to developing workouts and fundraising, coached approximately 26 players across varsity and junior varsity each season.
Prior to her time with the Saints, Payton spent multiple seasons as a travel basketball youth coach with Hamm Hoops LLC. Her coaching career began in 2016 when she served as a student assistant coach with her alma mater Arizona Christian for two years. Assisting with practice, scouting, and post player development, Payton helped the Firestorm rise from seventh in the Golden State Athletic Conference to a top 25 ranked program in NAIA.
After competing on the court for ACU herself and collecting a NAIA Scholar Athlete Award along the way, Payton earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a concentration in Sports Psychology in 2017. She went on to graduate from Siena Heights with a master’s degree in Business Administration in 2020.
Augusta women’s basketball is set to open its season Friday Nov. 11 in Milledgeville, Ga when they take on Barton College.
