LHS taps Audrianna Walker to lead Lady Bulldogs
BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
LAFAYETTE — A new face will roam the sidelines for LaFayette High School’s girls basketball team after the Chambers County School Board on June 17 unanimously voted to hire Audrianna Walker as the Lady Bulldogs’ 14th head coach.
“I'm ready to work and I'm excited about the feedback I’ve already gotten from the community,” Walker said. “[There’s] going to be a different standard and expectations. You'll see a difference in the program, I can promise that. And that's just it. We’re ready to work and see what we do this season.”
Although it will be her first high school coaching job, Walker has extensive experience coaching youth basketball around Lanett and Valley.
The position closely aligns with the tutoring and mentorship work she has been doing since 2019.
“For me, it's really like a full circle moment because growing up. I always had good influences I could turn to, and I see how we need more of that in the community,” Walker said. “I'm excited to be able to give back to the kids and pour my time and effort into them.”
Walker said that her program will put a premium on academics. After a knee injury cut her collegiate career short, she said strong academics will allow her players to be successful in life after they are done playing the sport.
On the court, Walker said she will model practices that reflect the intensity of those she faced at the college level.
She added that her motto for the upcoming season will be W.I.N. Today, which stands for “walk in purpose, inspire greatness and never quit.”
Her slogan will be “yesterday is done, tomorrow is unknown but today is ours.”
After thanking previous girls head coach Travis Carswell for his efforts in setting the standard, LHS athletic director and boys head basketball coach Chase Lewis said Walker was exactly what the school was looking for.
“We definitely aimed for a strong female figure with a basketball background and experience, and Coach Walker showed us that,” Lewis said. “On top of that, she also gives us a math teacher. So to have her in the building all day long and to have her experience, knowledge and basketball IQ that she has, it was a home run.”
A product of Southern Union Community College’s women’s basketball program, Walker played for the Lady Bison, making 52 total appearances, including 36 starts, over two seasons.
At SUSCC, she averaged 10 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game before transferring to the University of Northwestern Ohio ahead of her junior year.
Before playing at the collegiate level, Walker starred for Valley High School from 2008 until 2014. There, she made 110 total appearances and averaged 11.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game over her six-year career.
After earning a starting role during her freshman year, she helped lead the Lady Rams to a 91-21 overall record, three 5A Area 4 titles and two semifinal appearances during her final four seasons.
Walker also made the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s 5A girls all-state honorable mention team as both a sophomore in 2012 and a junior in 2013 before making the second team as a senior in 2014.
