FORT MYERS, Fla. – First-year head coach Chelsea Lyles earned the Atlantic Sun Conference's Coach of the Year Award Thursday, and fifth-year senior Emani Jefferson collected back-to-back ASUN Player of the Year honors, as announced by the league office.
Lyles took over a 0-2 program after the immediate departure of Karl Smesko to the WNBA and the Atlanta Dream. She stepped into the role and went 27-1, which included a win over a Power 4 and Big East team. Only FGCU and UConn have won 25 or more games for 15 straight years.
Lyles currently has the Eagles on a 20-game win streak and went perfect in conference play, 18-0, to win the eighth straight ASUN regular season title and clinch the No. 1 overall seed. This is the first back-to-back undefeated seasons since 2015-16. The Eagles won 17 conference games by double digits.
Lyles groomed the nation's 9th-best scoring defense, allowing just 53.6 points per game. She also put the Eagles in a position to receive votes in the USA Top 25 Coaches Poll for nine straight weeks and is No. 7 overall in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
FGCU continued its streak of seven straight ASUN Players of the Year with Jefferson. Jefferson is the third Eagle to win the award in back-to-back seasons, joining Kierstan Bell, Whitney Knight and FGCU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Sarah Hansen.
Jefferson owns a conference-best 57.3 percent shooting percentage as the leader of the offense, which ranks No. 22 in the county this season. She is first in the ASUN in assists-to-turnover ratio and third overall in free throw attempts. Jefferson leads the team in assists with 101, ranking sixth in the ASUN. She is second on the squad in steals and in blocks. Jefferson provided a team-leading 14.0 points per game for the undefeated Eagles. She scored double figures in 26 games, all but three, and reached 20 or more points three times with a season-high of 22.
Jefferson dropped 20 points at second-place Central Arkansas and added 19 in a P4 win over Cincinnati en route to being named the Atlantic Slam (MTE) MVP. She is also second on the team in rebounds at 5.7 per game, collecting two double-doubles on the year. The Miami native won ASUN Player of the Week once and played a major role in helping record a perfect record in conference play, win 27 games and possess the nation's ninth-best scoring defense.
Lauryn Taylor rounded out FGCU's postseason honors by earning a spot on the ASUN Third Team. Taylor corralled a team-high 9.0 rebounds per game and 10.5 in league play, ranking 3rd overall in the ASUN and 2nd during conference season. Her 271 rebounds rank No. 42 in the nation.
She averaged 10.1 points per game and had nine double-doubles, eight of which have come in conference play. Taylor scored a season-high 18 points at North Florida and scored 17 points at second-place UCA. She reached double figures 15 times and snagged a season-high 16 rebounds twice.
Taylor tallied 10 or more rebounds in 13 games and emerged third on the team in steals (41) and second in blocks, swiping two or more steals in 11 contests. The fifth-year senior from Blythewood, S.C. earned ASUN Newcomer of the Week twice.
