Kim Mulkey adds Seimone Augustus to LSU coaching staff

Less than a year and a half after Seimone Augustus received a statue outside of the PMAC, she is now joining the LSU coaching staff under Kim Mulkey, LSU announced on Monday morning.

Augustus, the best women’s basketball player in LSU’s history and now joins the Tigers staff alongside Bob Starkey, Gary Redus, and Daphne Mitchell, who are key pieces to the Tigers’ success over the past two years.

“It is an exciting day for the LSU Women’s Basketball program to bring Seimone Augustus back to join our staff,” Mulkey said. “As a player at LSU, Seimone helped transform the program as the best player in the nation. She brought LSU to national prominence. She will be a tremendous member on our staff as someone with great experience who has excelled at every level of the game from high school in Baton Rouge to college to the WNBA to the Olympics. Her expertise in the game will benefit our team and allow our players the opportunity to learn from a Hall of Famer who has exhibited great class throughout her entire career.”

The Tigers have won a national championship and reached the Elite Eight over the past two seasons and now will be returning Flau’Jae Johnson, Aneesah Morrow, and Mikaylah Williams as the core along with additions of key transfers including Shayeanne Day-Wilson, Kailyn gilbert, Jersey Wolfenbarger, and Mjracle Sheppard. There’s plenty of talent on the roster, and now with the addition of Augustus, Mulkey continues to look for the best way to get the most out of her team this upcoming season and who better than Augustus?

“Life always guides you to where you belong,” Augustus said. “Thus, my path has led me home. Gracing me with an opportunity to further my coaching career within a program that I hold dearly. They say experience is the greatest teacher, I am truly excited about the knowledge and wisdom I will gain working alongside of legendary Coach Mulkey and reconnecting with my former coach, Coach Bob Starkey. A Fighting Tiger once more, I look forward to pouring into this generation of Lady Tigers. Once A Tiger, Always A Tiger. A new chapter begins. See you at the PMAC.”

Starkey knows first hand what Augustus brings to LSU.

“It is really hard to sum up what she means not just to our women’s basketball program, not just to our school, but the entire community,” Starkey said when Augustus’ statue was revealed. “I think Skip Bertman summed it up best when he said she was the most influential recruit in the history of Louisiana State University athletics. That’s a powerful statement, but I think it’s true. She changed the culture of our program by being a great competitor every single day in practice.”

A generational player who made a transformational impact on LSU Women’s Basketball, Augustus took the program to new heights. The Tigers never went to a Final Four before Augustus, but she brought them to their first which started a run of five straight Final Four appearances for LSU.

Augustus was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 WNBA draft and quickly won WNBA Rookie of the Year. She won three WNBA Championships and was the 2011 WNBA Finals MVP. On the world stage, Augustus won three Olympic Gold Medals with team USA.

Now, she returns to LSU as a staff member on one of the most notable programs in the country further bolstering the potential of this team and this program for years to come.