Rock Hill, S.C. – Head women's basketball coach Semeka Randall Lay has announced the hiring of Necole Sterling and Dante Travis as assistant coaches, Alexandra Strong as the director of basketball operations and Jackson Kenyon as the video coordinator.
 
Sterling comes to Winthrop after serving as an assistant coach at Northwest Florida State College for the past two seasons.
 
In the 2022 season NWFSC won the Panhandle Conference title, the FCSAA Region 8 Championship and advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NJCAA Tournament. The following season saw NWFSC repeat as Panhandle Conference champions, finished runner-up in Region 8 and went on to capture the NJCAA National Championship.
 
At NWFSC, Sterling was responsible for assisting with all aspects of the women's basketball program, including recruitment of prospective student-athletes; practice planning; on-the-court coaching and individual player development; scouting opponents and game planning; non-conference game scheduling; monitoring of student-athlete academic progress and maintaining a collaborative working relationship with administrators and coaches in the athletic department, academic offices and alumni.
 
Prior to her time at NWFSC, Sterling served as the Director of Operations for the Willie Diggs Basketball Association in 2021, a girls AAU program and from 2018-21, was the Varsity Girls Basketball Assistant Coach at Tuscarora High School.
 
The Los Angeles, Calif. native attended and played at the University of Miami (FL) for two seasons and earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree in 2015. Prior to being a Hurricane, Sterling spent her first two years of college at Gulf Coast State College. She averaged 12 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists and was named to the NJCAA All-Tournament team.
 
Travis arrives in Rock Hill after spending last season as the interim head coach at nearby Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, NC.
 
Before that he was the head coach at Northwest Kansas Tech. Travis brings a plethora of experience with over 20 years of coaching experience at the High school, JUCO, Division I, and Division II ranks for both men's and women's programs.  Prior to Northwest Kansas Tech Travis served as the Director of Player Development at Division I Morehead State University for two seasons.
 
Before MSU, Travis spent one season at Bethune-Cookman University where he assisted the Lady Wildcats to a program-record 24-win season and a trip to the Women's National Invitational Tournament in 2017-18 which also included a program first top 25 ranking in the CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
 
Prior to BCU, Travis helped guide Columbus State University to the Elite Eight of the 2017 NCAA Division II Tournament finishing with an overall record of 31-2 as well as being ranked 5th in the final poll for Division II. Travis was also in charge of orchestrating their offense which led to them to being ranked 16th in the nation in scoring offense in 2017.
 
Travis' hoops experience also includes assistant coaching stops at Livingstone College (2015-2016), Kentucky State University (2010-2014), and Chestnut Hill College (2009-2010) where he also served as Recruiting Coordinator.
 
Before joining the staff at Chestnut Hill, Travis held the position of Associate Head Men's Basketball Coach at his alma mater, Saint Paul's College in Lawrenceville, VA from 2004-2009.  Wasting no time, he was quickly able to help revive a struggling program by playing a major role in the recruitment and skill development of five All-CIAA players, two All-Rookie players, and one Rookie of the Year.  During his time at SPC Travis's primary responsibility was to install the team's offense and direct them during competition.  In doing so, Saint Paul's was ranked 12th in NCAA Division II Scoring Offense 2006-2007 (85.1 ppg), 1st in 3 Pointers Made/2nd in CIAA Scoring Offense 2007-2008, and 3rd in CIAA Scoring Offense, 2008-2009.
 
Travis' coaching career began in 2001 coaching boy's high school basketball at the Ridge School of Montgomery County (Md.). In three seasons he led the school to a 48-18 record and earned Coach of the Year honors in 2002-03 for his team's 19-4 finish to the season.
 
Travis obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice from Saint Paul's College and a Masters in Recreation & Sports Administration from Western Kentucky University. He is a member of the Women's Basketball Coaching Association (WBCA).
 
On the hardwood, Travis found early success playing alongside NBA Hall of Fame point guard Allen Iverson at Bethel High School in Hampton, VA. Travis helped co-captain Bethel to a VHSL State Championship in 1993. Collegiately, Travis played guard at Ferrum College for one season and helped lead them to a co-championship of the Dixie Conference. Travis transferred to Saint Paul's (1997-00) to wrap up his playing days in the legendary CIAA basketball conference.
 
Strong comes to Winthrop after spending the winter and spring of 2023 as a seasonal operations coordinator at Athletes Unlimited Women's Basketball Professional League in Dallas, TX.
 
Prior to that, she was the Director of Basketball Operations at Millennium High School in Phoenix, AZ from August 2022 to January 2023.
 
Prior to her time in Houston, Strong was the Director of Player Development and Operations with the Shaker Heights City School District in Ohio from June 2020 to May 2022, starting that position as a college student. She had been with the school system in Shaker Heights since August 2012, starting out as a Supervisor and Recreation Instructor at the city's recreation center.
 
The Cleveland, OH native graduated from Kent State University in December of 2021 with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Business Management after spending two years at Langston University in Oklahoma from August 2016 to May 2018 while also playing on the women's basketball program. Strong is currently pursuing her Masters of Sport Management with an MBA degree online.
 
As a player at Langston, she was named to the Red River Conference All-Academic Team and a Team Captain her sophomore year (2017-18).
 
Kenyon comes to Winthrop after serving his alma mater, Miami (OH) in various capacities within the athletic department while a student.
 
While in Oxford, Kenyon was the manager of the men's basketball program his freshman year in 2019-20. After a year away from the program during the COVID year in 2020-21, he played for the team during his junior year in 2021-22 season while also interning in their athletic communications department in 2022.
 
Kenyon hails from Deerfield, IL and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business with a concentration in Supply Chain & Operations Management from Miami (OH) in 2023.