By: Brandon Collins, Athletics Communications
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M women’s basketball head coach Joni Taylor added 13-year coaching veteran Chelsea Newton as associate head coach on Wednesday.
Newton rejoins Taylor in Aggieland after spending the past seven seasons as an assistant at Georgia. She helped the Lady Bulldogs land three top-15 recruiting classes and earn four NCAA Tournament bids. The Monroe, Louisiana, native comes from the coaching tree of Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer C. Vivian Stringer. Newton played under the legend from 2001-05 and coached on her staff from 2010-2015 at Rutgers.
“I cannot express how excited I am to get to Aggieland and begin this journey to recruit the best and help develop our future leaders,” Newton said. “To be able to continue working with Joni [Taylor] at an elite institution and carrying on Coach Blair’s legacy is a responsibility that I do not take lightly. I look forward to experiencing the 12th Man, a fan base that is second to none!”
“Chelsea [Newton] is one of the best and brightest coaches in the country,” Taylor added. “Her ability to coach, teach the game and develop players puts them in a position to be successful, not only during their collegiate careers, but also to become a professional athlete if that is what they aspire to. Her personality and ability to create and maintain relationships with anyone she meets makes her one of the best recruiters in the country. There is no doubt that Chelsea could be a head coach right now if she desired. I am grateful that she chose to come to Texas A&M and excited about what the future holds for her.”
Newton is widely regarded as a star among today’s coaches and brings a wealth of knowledge to the court. She has coached an impressive list of 14 WNBA players and 19 all-conference selections in 13 seasons at Rutgers and Georgia.
Newton’s on-court coaching success and her ability to attract some of the nation’s top talent made her a vital part of the Lady Bulldog basketball program. As the team’s recruiting coordinator, she helped Georgia sign three highly rated classes in the final four years at UGA. Additionally, she helped land two top-three recruiting classes at Rutgers. In all, Newton has helped sign 13 top-100 prospects and six top-20 recruits during her career.
Under her guidance, former Scarlet Knight standouts Kahleah Copper and Betnijah Laney were selected in the first round of the WNBA Draft. Newton also helped sign the No. 1 point guard in the country, Tyler Scaife, in 2013. She then helped develop Scaife into the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year in 2013-14 – the same season Rutgers won the WNIT Championship.
At Georgia, Newton helped guide the program through continued success. In 2021, the Lady Bulldogs advanced to the SEC Tournament finals for the first time since 2004 and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The 2017-18 Georgia squad finished second in the SEC standings and earned a top-4 national seed on its way to the largest single-season turnaround in Georgia basketball history.
Her expertise on the court comes from an equally impressive playing career. Under Stringer, Newton was a four-year starter and was selected as the team’s Most Valuable Player in 2004 and 2005. In 2005, she was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year and was tabbed both First-Team All-Met and Third-Team All-Big East. She was also on staff with the 2007 Rutgers’ team that finished as NCAA National Runner-Up.
Newton was selected by the Sacramento Monarchs with the No. 22 overall pick in the second round of the 2005 WNBA Draft and helped the Monarchs to the 2005 WNBA Championship.
Newton also enjoyed a successful overseas career. During the 2005-06 season, she played for Raanana Hertziliya in Israel and Lotos Gdynia in Poland. After serving as director of player development at Rutgers for the Scarlet Knights during their NCAA runner-up campaign in 2006-07, Newton played two seasons in Italy with Carispe La Spezia in 2007-08 and with Limatic Umbertide in 2009-10.
Newton was a WBCA and Parade All-American at Carroll High School. She was a three-time All-State selection, was twice named Northeast Louisiana Player of the Year and was valedictorian of her senior class.
New season ticket purchases for the 2022-23 Texas A&M women’s basketball season are on sale through the 12th Man Foundation. Returning season ticket holders will have the opportunity to renew their tickets later this summer.