Lincoln Memorial University Women's Basketball

Devan Carter enters his sixth season as head coach of the LMU women’s basketball program in 2025-2026, holding an overall coaching record of 69-63. Under his leadership, the team has made multiple South Atlantic Conference (SAC) tournament appearances in 2020-21, 22-23, 23-24, and 24-25, highlighted by a SAC Tournament Runner-Up finish in the 2020-2021 season. The program achieved its first national rankings in seven years during the 2023-2024 season, placing #20 and #18. His players have earned numerous honors, including 7 SAC All-Conference selections, 2 CSC Academic All-District awards, 1 SAC All-Freshman, 1 SAC All-Tournament, 4 SAC Player of the Week recognitions, and 1 SAC Women’s Basketball Elite 20 winner. Carter made history with LMU during the 2021 SAC postseason tournament by hosting a first-round game and leading the team on a magical run. The squad defeated the No. 1 seed and nationally-ranked Carson-Newman for the second time that season, becoming the first-ever eighth seed to upset the top seed in the 30-year history of the SAC tournament quarterfinals. Prior to LMU, Carter spent five successful seasons as head coach of the Pioneer women’s basketball program at Tusculum University, also a South Atlantic Conference member. He transformed the program, leading Tusculum to back-to-back 20-win seasons, three consecutive winning campaigns, and the 2020 SAC Tournament championship. Carter was named permanent head coach midway through the 2015-16 season after serving as interim head coach and guided Tusculum to its first SAC Tournament title since 2011 by defeating 20th-ranked Anderson in the championship game. Carter’s 2019-20 Tusculum squad set a program-best with 24 wins and a .774 winning percentage, ranking in the national top 15 in several defensive statistical categories. His teams were consistently competitive in the SAC, earning multiple All-Conference and All-Region selections, including standout players such as Mia Long and Kasey Johnson. Before Tusculum, Carter served two seasons as an assistant coach at Hargrave Military Academy, contributing to player development and recruitment, including coaching future NBA talents like Montrezl Harrell and Terry Rozier. A native of Cascade, Virginia, Carter was a four-year letterman at Elon University, playing an integral role in the program’s turnaround, including reaching the 2008 SoCon Tournament final, the program’s first nationally televised game. Following his collegiate career, Carter played professionally overseas in Europe. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Elon University and a Master of Arts degree in human resource management from Tusculum University.      

Lincoln Memorial University head women's basketball coach Devan Carter announced the promotion of Sydney Wilson to assistant coach on July 16, 2021. Wilson enters her second season on staff in 2021-22 and arrived in Harrogate after a decorated career at fellow South Atlantic Conference member Tusculum, where she played for Carter.  During her season as a graduate assistant, Wilson helped LMU to an 11-11 (7-10 SAC) record and a postseason run that will not soon be forgotten as the Lady Railsplitters became the first eighth seed to defeat a one seed (Carson-Newman) in the quarterfinal round of the 2021 SAC Pilot Flying J Women's Basketball Championship. Continuing their outstanding run, LMU went on to defeat Anderson in the semifinals before falling to Tusculum in the final. In her five seasons in Greeneville, Wilson became the 18th player in program history to score over 1,000 points. An All-South Atlantic Conference performer during the 2017-18 season, Wilson became the 8th player in school history to make 100 career three pointers as a junior. Wilson graduated from Tusculum with a bachelor's degree in sport management in 2019 and her master's degree in sport administration in 2020.

Irelynn Davisson returned to the Lincoln Memorial women's basketball program as a graduate assistant coach for the 2022-23 season after leading the team in scoring at 13 points per game and shooting 42.8 percent on 3-pointers as a graduate transfer in 2021-22. The Port Orange, Fla., native came to Harrogate after leading Belmont Abbey College to a Conference Carolinas championship and NCAA Elite 8 berth as a senior in 2020-21. Davisson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a minor in Education while at Belmont Abbey, and she is now in her second year of the MBA program at Lincoln Memorial with a concentration in sport management.

Director of Athletics Donny Grigsby named Jeff Kavalunas as the next head coach of the Lincoln Memorial University cross country program on Aug. 11, 2022.    Throughout his 30-year head coaching career, Kavalunas has overseen two national champions, 45 all-Americans, 91 conference champions and multiple NCAA Woman of the Year finalists.   Kavalunas arrives to Harrogate from Eastern New Mexico University, where he served as the head men’s and women’s coach for both cross country and track & field since 2017. During his stay in Portales, he oversaw and produced 17 NCAA All-Americans and 21 Lone Star Conference champions.   From 2010 to 2017, Kavalunas had two separate head coaching stints at University of the Southwest and Olivet College. During his time at the University of the Southwest, he developed a competitive NAIA program, producing one all-American, four National Track & Field Championship qualifiers and three National Cross Country Championship qualifiers.   During Kavalunas’ four-year stay at NCAA DIII affiliate Olivet College, the Michigan native coached three individual conference champions, headlined with two NCAA National Championship Track & Field qualifiers.   As the head men’s and women’s cross country and track & field coach, Kavalunas longest-career position resided with Ferris State University in Michigan from 1996-2009. During his tenure in Big Rapids, Kavalunas developed quite the resume, including overseeing a NCAA National Champion. At the helm of Ferris State, Kavalunas produced 24 Track & Field all-Americans, 48 NCAA National Championship qualifiers and over 60 conference champions that helped set 37 program-records. In 2004, Kavalunas and Ferris State achieved a program-defining statement, sending a student-athlete to an Olympic trails qualifier.   Kavalunas’ head coaching career began in 1991 in Midland, Michigan at Northwood University, where he oversaw both the cross country and track & field programs. His student-athletes helped to set six program-records, as two reached all-American status, in addition to 15 participating in NCAA National Championship qualifiers. Kavalunas first head coaching position was headlined with an individual NCAA National Champion at Northwood.   Jeff Kavalunas is a 1987 graduate of Grand Valley University where he studied physical education, in addition to completing his master’s at Central Michigan University in 1990. Kavalunas became involved in coaching cross country and track & field at Central Michigan where he served as a graduate assistant.