Kim Mulkey adds LSU legend Seimone Augustus to staff

LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey added Tigers legend Seimone Augustus to her coaching staff on Monday.

Augustus, who helped LSU reach three straight Final Fours from 2004-06, replaces the retired Johnny Derrick.

"Life always guides you to where you belong," said Augustus, 40, a Baton Rouge native. "Thus, my path has led me home, gracing me with an opportunity to further my coaching career within a program that I hold dearly."

Augustus was a two-time Naismith Player of the Year, two-time Wooden Award winner and two-time SEC Player of the Year while starring at LSU from 2002-06. The school unveiled a statue of Augustus outside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in January 2023.

In November, Augustus will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. She also joined the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame this year.

"As a player at LSU, Seimone helped transform the program as the best player in the nation," Mulkey said. "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."

Augustus helped the United States win three Olympic gold medals at Beijing (2008), London (2012) and Rio de Janeiro (2016).

Augustus, a 6-foot guard/forward, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx. She became an eight-time All-Star and four-time WNBA champion during her 15-year career with the Lynx (2006-19) and Los Angeles Sparks (2020).

Augustus was an assistant coach with the Sparks in 2021 and 2022.