Winthrop head women’s basketball coach Lynette Woodard announced the completion of her staff with the hiring of three assistants and a director of basketball operations.
Woodard, who was named head coach of the Eagles on March 28, has hired Kevin Lynum, Tesia Harris and Tobias Pinson to make up the assistant coaching staff and Gabe Holguin has been named the director of basketball operations.
Lynum comes to the Eagle program from Northwest Kansas Technical College (Goodland, KS) where he was the head women’s basketball coach and head sports information director. In one season he led the program to a 28-2 mark, the most wins in the history of the program. The team made the NJCAA Region VI Tournament and he was a finalist for the WBCA/Marine Corps Junior College National Coach of the Year award. In 2015-16 he served as an assistant coach and head junior varsity coach at Southwestern College. Prior to his stint at Southwestern College he was the head women’s basketball coach and also served as athletic director for Florida Suns Youth Basketball Association, Inc. in Gainesville, FL. Lynum founded the Florida Suns Youth Basketball Association, Inc. in January of 2011 and remained there before heading to Southwestern College in 2015. Lynum has also had stops at Fort Clarke School (girl’s head coach), Warner University (women’s assistant coach/recruiting coordinator) and Overhills High School (boy’s head coach). Lynum is a graduate of American Military University in Charles Town, WV where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and graduated with honors in 2012. He achieved his Master’s in Business Administration at Warner in 2015 and is currently working on his Doctorate in Education (Education Leadership) from Southwestern College.
“I am very excited to have coach Kevin Lynum as a part of the Winthrop women’s basketball staff,” said Woodard. “He brings a work ethic, a wealth of knowledge and experience to the game. In his role as director of recruiting operations, he will help bolster our recruiting efforts with his strong national recruiting ties. I feel he is one of the best young recruiters in the business. Coach is committed and no one works harder. He is a natural born leader and is an asset to our program here at Winthrop.”
Harris joins the Eagles after spending the last year working as the senior manager of business operations with Unique Sports Management (Melville, NY), where she managed the day-to-day activities of professionals as well as managing branding, social media strategies, and coordinated the recruitment of prospected collegiate athletes. Harris played collegiately at Delaware and St. John’s (NY) University as she combined to score 1,000 points in her career. She led the Blue Hens with 13.6 ppg and 51 made threes as a sophomore in 2008-09. She finished her career at St. John’s where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in sociology in 2011. After graduation she continued her playing career overseas with a stop in Slovakia with SBK Samorin. After a year Harris decided to move into coaching as she took an assistant position with NYIT women’s basketball. From there her career path took her to the National Basketball Association (NBA) League Office where she was part of the production management team. During that time she also started her own business for training athletes in New York. She maintained player development programs for athletes at high school, collegiate and professional levels.
“Coach Harris is passionate about the game of basketball and driven to help others succeed,” said Woodard. “Her collegiate and professional experiences will be a valuable asset in her role as coach and mentor to our players. In her role at Winthrop, she will support all aspects of our program: recruiting, scouting and assisting with player development. She will monitor our student-athletes for academic success and oversee our community service projects. Coach Harris is hardworking and dedicated and we are glad to have her as part of the Winthrop staff.”
Pinson comes to Winthrop after serving as an assistant coach with the USC Upstate women’s basketball program in 2016-17. Pinson is a 2015 graduate from USC Upstate as he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Economics and Finance. Prior to joining USC Upstate he was a graduate assistant for women’s basketball at Walsh University in North Canton, OH where he also served as head junior varsity coach. He began his coaching career as a volunteer basketball assistant at Converse College in Spartanburg, SC while pursuing his undergraduate degree. Pinson has ties to Winthrop as he began his collegiate career with the Eagles as a member of the men’s basketball team in 2011-12 before transferring to Spartanburg Methodist, where he was a member of the men’s basketball team.
“Tobias is an excellent coach and we are excited to have him here at Winthrop,” said Woodard. “He is hard working and committed. He is a team player who has great energy and a love for the game. He has the knowledge and experience to help us prepare for the challenges ahead. He will be involved in every aspect of the program, including recruiting, scouting, practice, game preparation and player development. With the strong sense of ethics and integrity that he brings I am confident he will do an excellent job for our program.”
Holguin is familiar with Winthrop in many ways, but most recently as an assistant to the Associate Athletic Directors in the athletic department. Holguin had many duties that included helping with the Eagle Club Scholarship Auction and the 2017 Big South Men’s Basketball Championship (hosted at the Winthrop Coliseum). He also volunteered and had internship experience in the athletic department assisting in athletic facilities, event management and strength & conditioning when he was a student.
In addition to his experience in the athletic department at Winthrop Holguin was working for run specialty and event management companies. Holguin is a 2014 graduate of Winthrop University with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise-Science and minor in Coaching. During his time at Winthrop he was a member of the men’s cross country and track programs. As a member of the cross country team, Hoguin was a three-time Big South All-Conference performer.
“We are excited to welcome Gabe to the Winthrop women’s basketball staff,” said Woodard. “His enthusiasm for the student-athlete experience is unmatched. Gabe will coordinate all team activities that includes travel arrangements, team meals, and day-to-day operations for our program.”
Photo Courtesy Winthrop Athetics
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