EUREKA, IL - Yesterday afternoon, it was announced that assistant women's basketball coach Jaylynn Stewart would be heading home to become to the 13th head coach of her alma mater, Division III Eureka College.

In five years with La Roche, Coach Stewart helped lead the Redhawks to four AMCC regular season titles and three AMCC tournament championships, clinching a spot in the NCAA Tournament three of those seasons. LRU posted a 94-40 record during Stewart's tenure.

Of her departure, head coach Kamela Gissendanner said "No words can describe the impact Coach Jay has had on our program, our girls, and myself. She is an incredible human being. Eureka is blessed to have her lead those young women. We are so proud of her. I can't wait to see the impact she makes on her brand new journey back home."

Eureka College's Director of Athletics, Bryan Moore noted of Coach Stewart's hiring in the college's press release "She knows how to win, and we're very eager for her to bring her energy and mentorship to our women's basketball student-athletes. As a former Eureka College student-athlete, she helped set the tone for what has become an era of great success and consistency for our women's basketball program. We can't wait for her to become reengaged on campus and begin leading our program."

After playing two season at NCAA Division I Illinois State University, Coach Jay transferred to EC to finish her collegiate career. Stewart led the Red Devils to back-to-back SLIAC Tournaments, including a championship game appearance in 2012, and earned All-SLIAC honors in 2013. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in athletic training from the college in 2014 and attained her master's degree in human resource management from La Roche in 2019.

At LRU, Coach Stewart served as the women's basketball teams head of scouting and social media manager. On the court she split her years managing the guards and post players. She also had her hand in running film sessions, organizing team road trips and monitoring players' academic progress. 

La Roche's Department of Athletics wishes Coach Jay the best of luck on her well-deserved and exciting new position.