Women's Basketball 8/10/2023 12:00:00 PM Madeline Cummings, Athletic Communications

Jaylynn Stewart Named Sewanee Women's Basketball Head Coach

SEWANEE, Tenn. – Director of Athletics John Shackelford announced on August 10th the hiring of Jaylynn Stewart as Sewanee's head women's basketball coach.

"Jaylynn brings her personal brand of positive energy to our head coaching position. She's already made a strong impression on our student-athletes and will easily connect with our prospective recruits and their families," says Shackelford. "Coach Stewart understands the value of a Sewanee education and the importance of our rigorous academics. She knows how to be a mentor who uplifts her student-athletes and teaches them lessons that go far beyond the lines of the court."

Stewart spent the past nine years coaching collegiately, and for the past three years served as head women's basketball coach at Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois. In her first season at Eureka, she helped bring in 16 new players to the team, cultivating a new culture in the program and guiding the team to the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals by earning its first SLIAC Tournament victory since 2017. Stewart saw Eureka to three SLIAC Tournament appearances and coached three student-athletes who scored more than 1,000 points in their careers.

"Thank you to Athletics Director, John Shackelford and Assistant Athletics Director, Carrie Austin for providing me with this opportunity. It is truly an honor to be named the next head women's basketball coach at Sewanee and to be trusted to lead a great group of women at such a prestigious university" expressed Stewart.

Prior to her stint at Eureka, Stewart coached at the high school level for a year before taking an assistant coaching position at La Roche University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for five years. At La Roche University, Stewart helped the Red Hawks capture four regular-season conference titles and clinch three NCAA Tournament bids. Additionally, she coached two Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Players of the Year, three AMCC Defensive Players of the Year, and five of the top 10 scorers in La Roche program history. She also served as an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Steel City Queens in the semi-professional Women's American Basketball Association in 2018.

Stewart graduated from Eureka College with a bachelor's degree in athletic training and earned a master's degree in human resource management from La Roche University in 2019. Stewart played college ball for four years at both the Division I and Division III levels. She started her collegiate career at NCAA Division I Illinois State and appeared in 26 games for the Redbirds from 2009-2011 before helping the Eureka Red Devils make back-to-back SLIAC Tournaments, including a championship game appearance, and earned All-SLIAC honors in 2013.

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