By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
The LSU women’s basketball team is losing another staff member as it prepares for its first game of the NCAA Tournament on Friday against No. 15 seed Jacksonville inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (5 p.m., ESPN).
Assistant coach Daphne Mitchell will not be with the team for the NCAA Tournament and will instead join Gary Redus II’s staff at Rutgers, where she is expected to serve in a recruiting role, head coach Kim Mulkey confirmed Sunday evening.
Kim Mulkey said that assistant coach Daphne Mitchell is officially following Gary Redus to Rutgers. She won't be with LSU for the tournament
— Reed Darcey (@byreeddarcey) March 16, 2026
The departure is not a surprise. Mulkey hinted at the move last week during her appearance on ESPN 104.5 Baton Rouge’s “Off The Bench” with Jacob Hester and Matt Flynn.
“He could take one of our coaches, like coach Daphne,” Mulkey said last Wednesday. “His wife is best friends with coach Daphne. They played at Georgia Tech together, they were roommates. And if he does, I’ll be happy for her as well.”
Mitchell played with Redus’ wife, Tiffany Blackmon, at Georgia Tech from 2006-08.
Mitchell was with the team late last week and attended practices on both Wednesday and Thursday.
Mitchell had served as an assistant on Mulkey’s staff for the past 11 seasons, dating back to their time together at Baylor. She coached post players, assisted with opponent scouting and played a key role in LSU’s recruiting efforts during the last five seasons.
Mulkey said that even with the departures of Redus and Mitchell, tournament preparation will remain the same.
“Daphne and G are our recruiters, okay? I have one person that does scout reports and that’s Bob (Starkey),” Mulkey said Sunday. “So, Bob will do what he normally does and the floor coaching, you’ll just move Seimone (Augustus) to fill in for G on passing drills and probably move maybe Joe (Schwartz) down there with Bob (with the posts).”
Mulkey also said that although both coaches offered suggestions on the sideline during games, their absence will not significantly impact in-game coaching.
“They like to make suggestions. All of them do, but no,” Mulkey said when asked if the departures would affect sideline coaching. “A lot of coaches will give scouting reports to multiple assistants. I just like hearing one voice and Bob’s in charge of matchups. Yeah, we’ll just have two chairs that they won’t be in, but as far as responsibilities, no.”
Mitchell spent six seasons with Mulkey in Waco at Baylor, where her responsibilities included recruiting, film breakdown, social media, scouting and game preparation.
Before joining Baylor’s staff, Mitchell spent two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Murray State. She also previously served as an assistant coach at Jacksonville and Tennessee Tech.
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