Kellogg Adds Stone, Bishop to Coaching Staff
7/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Stephen F. Austin head women’s basketball coach Mark Kellogg has announced the addition of Jayci Stone and Leonard Bishop to the Ladyjack coaching staff. Both coaches bring a wealth of experience and knowledge acquired at various levels of collegiate basketball.
“First and foremost, we’re really excited to get the full coaching staff together,” said Kellogg. “Jayci Stone came very highly recommended. She has tremendous experience at the junior college, division two and division one levels and will be our recruiting coordinator. I’m super excited to have her. Jayci has a great demeanor, she’ll be great on the floor and will really help us out from a recruiting standpoint.”
Stone comes to SFA from Southern Utah University, where she was the women’s basketball assistant coach and team’s recruiting coordinator. In 2014-15, she helped coach the Thunderbirds to a 13-15 record as a member of the Big Sky Conference while organizing the signing of eight players in the 2015 class.
Prior to her time in Cedar City, Stone worked for the TCU women’s basketball program for three years, serving as video coordinator, director of operations and interim assistant coach. Her numerous roles included scouting, overseeing academic affairs, organizing team travel and assisting with youth camps, all while helping the Horned Frogs to a nine-win turnaround (18-14) in their second season in the Big 12.
Stone, who also had coaching stints at Hutchinson Community College (2009-11), Frank Phillips College (2008-09) and the University of Alaska-Anchorage (2007), played her college ball at Colby Community College, New Mexico State University and Alaska-Anchorage. Overall between the three schools, she helped her team amass an 85-37 record.
Stone graduated from Kansas State University in 2008 as a social sciences major with an emphasis in physical education and history. She received her masters in liberal arts from TCU in 2013.
Bishop joins Stone as the second new assistant to the Ladyjack program in 2015-16. He has held coaching positions for both men’s and women’s programs over his career, most recently serving as assistant women’s basketball coach at his alma mater Texas A&M-Commerce from 2012-15.
“I’ve competed against Leonard the last few years while I was at West Texas A&M and I think he’s a rising star in this profession,” Kellogg said. “He’s a great communicator with players, coaches and anyone we’ll work with. He has a great personality. His dad is a coaching legend in Dallas so Leonard has been on a bench since he was probably seven or eight years old. He has a great eye for basketball.”
Bishop helped lead a dramatic turnaround for the women’s team at Texas A&M-Commerce as an assistant, guiding the Lions to a nine-win improvement and the program’s first postseason berth in four years during his first season on staff.
Prior to coaching the women’s squad at Commerce, Bishop assisted the men’s basketball program during the 2010-11 season. He got his start in coaching at Missouri Baptist University in 2009 where he was the assistant men’s coach for a season before returning to his alma mater in 2010.
After winning a national championship at Dallas Lincoln High School, Bishop attended Three Rivers Community College and Collin County Community College to begin his collegiate playing career. From 2006-08, he played at Commerce where he earned All-Lone Star Conference honorable mention recognition and was a team captain his senior year. He was awarded the Terry Allen Award in 2008 for his heart and dedication to the Lion program.
Bishop earned his degree in sociology from Commerce in 2008. He and his wife Ashley have a daughter Khendyn (7) and a son Leonard Bishop III (5).
“It’s like a roster when you try to get a coaching staff together,” said Kellogg. “I think we pieced it together really well. Coach Jamila Ganter will remain on the coaching staff here and we’re really excited to have her. We’re all just ready to hit the ground running.”
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