FORT MYERS, Fla. - FGCU women's basketball associate head coach Chelsea Lyles has been named one of the top 50 NCAA Division I assistant coaches across the nation by Silver Waves Media.
 
"I am honored to be recognized on a list with such incredible coaches," Lyles said. "This recognition is not just a reflection of me, but of our program and entire staff. I'm just grateful Coach Smesko gave me an opportunity to impact so many amazing young women."
 
Lyles just completed her first season as the Green and Blue's associate head coach after spending the previous five seasons as the recruiting coordinator. In 2019-20, she helped lead FGCU to a 30-3 record along with ASUN regular season and tournament championships. Overall, she has spent 10 years on the coaching staff, beginning as a student assistant in 2010-11 following a two-year playing career with the Eagles. She was elevated to an assistant coach the following season.
 
In her tenure, Lyles has been responsible for helping the Eagles land key players such as Rosemarie Julien, Tytionia Adderly, Nasrin Ulel, Tyra Cox, Erica Nelson and Davion Wingate. She primarily works with the guards in practice and plays an instrumental role in player mentorship and development, in particular with Ulel and Adderly. On top of that, she also helps coordinate and plan alumni weekend events for the program while assisting in running and coordinating camps.

"Chelsea is an exceptional coach who is greatly appreciated by everyone in our program," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "She is involved in every aspect of our program and has been instrumental to our success for more than a decade. We are fortunate to have her at FGCU."
 
In her five seasons as recruiting coordinator, Lyles and FGCU compiled a 149-28 record overall and a 69-3 mark in ASUN play. Following her one year stint as a student assistant, she helped the Eagles compile a 72-18 record over a three-year span, including an astounding 53-1 record in ASUN play. Her promotion to assistant coach for the 2011-12 season coincided with FGCU's ascent to full NCAA Division I status. In her 10-year tenure, the team has compiled a 289-55 (.840) record with nine ASUN regular season championships, seven ASUN tournament championships and six NCAA Tournament appearances, which includes first-round wins over Oklahoma State in 2015 and Missouri in 2018.
 
"These 50 coaches are at different points in their careers, from seasoned veterans, associate head coaches all the way to graduate assistants, but they all bring a variety of skills and assets to the programs they are impacting," Silver Waves Media's James Parker said. "There are young coaches with vigor, energy and enthusiasm who have a thirst for challenge, changing lives and learning. Also, there are experienced coaches that bring a wealth of wisdom and understanding. Many of these coaches have made an impression on me, whether it be their recruiting prowess, key relationships, network, knowledge, impact on others, understanding of the game and/or the successes of the programs they've been attached to. This is not a comprehensive list, nor are the coaches listed in any specific order. These are 50 assistant college coaches that I've witnessed their abilities to help shape programs, recruit, mentor and compete."
 
Prior to her time on the coaching staff, Lyles spent two years as a member of FGCU's women's basketball team from 2008-10, where she helped lead the Eagles to an ASUN regular season title and back-to-back WNIT bids during the program's NCAA Division I probationary period. She was a two-time First Team All-ASUN selection and led the team to a 50-12 record overall and a 34-6 mark in ASUN play. As a senior, she produced double-digits in scoring 21 times and finished among the top 15 in eight different ASUN statistical categories. She was also the recipient of FGCU's Most Outstanding Female Student-Athlete Award and spent one season with the Green and Blue's volleyball team in 2010, where she led the team in kills, blocks and hitting percentage.
 
Prior to FGCU, Lyles was a two-sport athlete at Western Nebraska Community College from 2006-08. She was a member of the 2007 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I national championship volleyball squad and was named First Team All-Region IX in basketball and volleyball while pacing the Cougars in scoring and rebounding in her second season. She also led the volleyball team to a national runner-up finish in her freshman campaign.
 
A three-sport athlete in volleyball, basketball and track at Harrison (Colo.) High School, Lyles was a high jump state champion, a First-Team All-Area and Second Team All-Colorado volleyball player and the 2006 Colorado Springs Player of the Year in basketball.
 
Lyles is a 2010 graduate of FGCU where she received a bachelor's degree in communication.
 
Notes
The No. 24 Eagles will have to replace eight players, including four starters, prior to next year after finishing 30-3 overall in 2019-20. The squad captured the program's conference record-breaking 10th ASUN regular season championship behind a 15-1 record and a seventh tournament title.
 
Historically, the Green and Blue are on pace to become the NCAA's all-time Division I winning percentage leader at the end of the 2020-21 season. They have produced at least 25 wins in each of the past 10 seasons, including four 30-win campaigns over the past six seasons, becoming one of just five NCAA Division I programs that can boast that, joining South Carolina, Baylor, Notre Dame and UConn.
 
Silver Waves Media
50-Most Impactful Division I Assistant Coaches
 
Aarika Hughes, USC associate head coach
Delisha Milton-Jones, Syracuse assistant coach
Sunny Smallwood, Montana State associate head coach
Jackie Nared, Arizona assistant coach
April Phillips, Cal Berkeley assistant coach
Ariel Massengale, Lipscomb assistant coach
Allyson Fasnacht, St. Mary's associate head coach
Blanche Alverson, Georgia Tech assistant coach
Dean Lockwood, Michigan State associate head coach
Kelly Finley, Florida associate head coach
Shannon Perry-LeBeauf, UCLA associate head coach
Jackie Moore, Arizona State associate head coach
Amy Starr, Pacific associate head coach
Nicci Hayes Fort, Drake assistant coach
Caitlin Collier, former UNLV associate head coach
Carly Thibault-Dudonis, Minnesota assistant coach
Mark Campbell, Oregon associate head coach
Sarah Jenkins, Delaware assistant coach
Tom Goehle, Nebraska assistant coach
Wendale Farrow, Cal Berkeley assistant coach
Jhasmin Player, Kansas assistant coach
Jasmine Lister, UConn assistant coach
Jessica Case, Cal Baptist assistant coach
Cinnamon Lister, UC Irvine assistant coach
Sam Purcell, Louisville associate coach
Billy Fennelly, Iowa State assistant coach
Cariann Ramirez, Boise State assistant coach
Alle Moreno, San Jose State associate head coach
Karlie Burris, Cal State Fullerton assistant coach
Charel Allen, Cal State Fullerton assistant coach
Kari Duperron, Cal Poly associate head coach
Calamity McEntire, Dayton assistant coach
Shimmy Gray-Miller, Clemson assistant coach
Chelsea Lyles, FGCU associate head coach
Kelly Killion, UPenn assistant coach
Nneka Enemkpali, UCSB assistant coach
Christine Clark, Belmont assistant coach
Bill Ferrara, New Mexico assistant coach
Elena Lovato, Mississippi State assistant coach
Hannah Howard, TCU associate head coach
Bob Starkey, Texas A&M assistant coach
Christa Sanford, Idaho associate head coach
Jocelyn Wyatt, Western Kentucky assistant coach
Jonas Chatterton, Oregon State associate head coach
Ewa Laskowska, Wichita State associate head coach
Janese Constantine, Indiana assistant coach
Jana Pearson, Northern Colorado assistant coach
Jasmin Holliday, USD assistant coach
Glenn Rigney, Lehigh associate head coach
Ganiyat Adeduntan, George Washington assistant coach
 
For complete coverage of the women's basketball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter and Instagram at @FGCU_WBB, on Facebook at /fgcuwbb and online at www.FGCUathletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU women's basketball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.

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SUPPORT THE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PROGRAM
Do you enjoy watching or following the FGCU women's basketball program? Would you like to play a role in the growth of the program and help take it to heights never before experienced? If so, you can reach out to Director of Advancement, Matt Ring, about opportunities to make an impact on the experiences of our student-athletes. He can be reached by email at mring@fgcu.edu or by office phone at 239-745-4434.

COACH SMESKO
FGCU head coach Karl Smesko maintains a record of 554-122 (.820) overall in his career (third highest winning percentage among active Division I coaches behind only UConn's Geno Auriemma and Baylor's Kim Mulkey), including a 201-17 (.922) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 24-2 (.923) record in ASUN tournament play. Over the past nine seasons, including this year, he has guided FGCU to a 137-5 (.975) record in conference play with five undefeated seasons. The 10-time ASUN Coach of the Year has guided the Green and Blue to four 30-plus win seasons over the past six years while compiling a 179-31 (.852) record. He has also guided the program to 16 consecutive 20-win seasons and 10-straight 25-win seasons.

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 82 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 12-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just eight-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 36 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2018 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for twenty-one consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall semester saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.