Sewanee: University of the South Women's Basketball

Jaylynn Stewart begins her third season as head coach at Sewanee in 2025-26.   The Tigers improved to 12-15 in Stewart’s second season as head coach, leading the conference in assists per game, 3-point attempts and 3-pointers made per contest. After starting league play 0-3, the club posted four victories in the next six outings. Sewanee defeated Berry College in the quarterfinals of the SAA Championships, the program’s first-ever win in the conference tournament.   Olivia Falvey garnered Second Team All-SAA honors while Cydney Wright and Hannah Cleveland were both named Honorable Mention. Faith Humphrey was named Academic All-District for the second straight year. In her first season, the Tigers posted a 7-19 overall record, 5-9 in the SAA in her first year, but the progress made during the season under Stewart does not show up in the overall mark for the season. Sewanee won four of its final nine outings, with four of the losses during that stretch by a combined 16 points and two of those in double overtime.   Falvey earned Second Team All-SAA honors while Kayla Antoine was an Honorable Mention selection. Humphrey received Academic All-District accolades.   Stewart spent the previous three years as head coach at Eureka College in Eureka, Ill., bringing in 16 new players to the program in her first campaign with the Red Devils. Eureka reached the conference tournament semifinals and posted its first league tourney victory in five years.   Over her three seasons at Eureka, her players received All-SLIAC honors five times, including one First Team, three Second Team and one Third Team selection. Two players were voted to the All-Defensive Team, one earned Sixth Woman of the Year, two were named to the All-Tournament Team and one garnered All-Region accolades along with three 1,000-point scorers.   Stewart worked five years as an assistant coach at La Roche University in Pittsburgh, Pa., helping the Redhawks capture four regular season conference championships and earn three NCAA Tournament berths.   She coached two Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Players of the Year, three AMCC Defensive Players of the Year and five of the Top 10 scorers in La Roche program history. The Redhawks qualified for the AMCC Tournament all five seasons and reached the championship game four times.   Stewart handled a variety of roles for the Redhawks, including director of scouting and social media. She was responsible for recruiting local talent, running film sessions, organizing team travel and monitoring players’ academic progress. She also benefited from her versatility as a player who could play every position on the floor, coaching the team’s guards for three years and post players in two seasons.   She began her collegiate career at Illinois State from 2009-11 and played her final season-and-a-half at Eureka College. She helped the Red Devils to a 38-14 record over two seasons and appeared in back-to-back SLIAC Tournaments, including a championship game appearance in 2012. She earned All-SLIAC honors in 2013 and is 11th in program history for assists in a season with 106 in 2012-13.   Stewart started her coaching career as a varsity assistant at East Peoria High School during the 2014-15 season before joining La Roche. She was also an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Steel City Queens in the semi-professional Women’s American Basketball Association in 2018.   Stewart earned a bachelor’s in Athletic Training from Eureka College in 2014 and received a master’s in Human Resource Management at La Roche in 2019. Stewart's Coaching Career Year Position Record Postseason 2024-25 Head Coach, Sewanee 12-15, 4-8 SAA semifinals 2023-24 Head Coach, Sewanee 7-19, 5-9 SAA quarterfinals 2022-23 Head Coach, Eureka College 8-18, 5-9 SLIAC quarterfinals 2021-22 Head Coach, Eureka College 11-14, 7-7 SLIAC quarterfinals 2020-21 Head Coach, Eureka College 7-8, 5-5 SLIAC semifinals 2019-20 Assistant Coach, La Roche University 20-7, 18-2 NCAA First Round 2018-19 Assistant Coach, La Roche University 16-9, 15-3 AMCC semifinals 2017-18 Assistant Coach, La Roche University 11-15, 9-9 AMCC quarterfinals 2016-17 Assistant Coach, La Roche University 23-6, 18-0 NCAA First Round 2015-16 Assistant Coach, La Roche University 24-4, 17-1 NCAA First Round 2014-15 Assistant Coach, East Peoria High Updated 1/22/2026

Rhys Pepino begins his second season as an assistant coach with the Sewanee women’s basketball staff in 2025-26. He previously working for head coach Jaylyn Stewart at Eureka College.   In his first season, the Tigers posted a 12-15 record, leading the conference in assists per game, 3-point attempts and 3-pointers made per contest. After starting league play 0-3, the club posted four victories in the next six outings. Sewanee defeated Berry College in the quarterfinals of the SAA Championships, the program’s first-ever win in the conference tournament.   Olivia Falvey garnered Second Team All-SAA honors while Cydney Wright and Hannah Cleveland were both named Honorable Mention. Faith Humphrey was named Academic All-District for the second straight year.   Pepino serves as the recruiting coordinator for the Tigers as well as the program’s primary defensive coach while also managing team travel, helping with in-game preparation and scouting, video and social media, and is extensively involved in player development.   Pepino previously coached at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Ill., serving as a full-time assistant. He handed all recruiting activities for the Blues and implemented long-term and game-specific strategies as serving as the team’s defensive coordinator. The team improved its opponent field goal percentage from 338th to 94th nationally (out of 429 teams), opponent 2-point field goal percentage from 352nd to 79th and opponent assist-to-turnover ratio from 291st to 56th.   Illinois College posted a 15-11 mark, the program’s first 15-win season in 20 years, and finished 10-6 in league play (tied for second), the team’s best conference finish since 1996-97.   Pepino currently serves as head coach of a prominent AAU program in central Illinois, Heart of Illinois, coaching the 16U and 17U Bloomington Girls teams.   The Oswego, Ill., native worked as a video coordinator at SIU Edwardsville for two years as a student assistant, analyzing game film and creating video scouting reports while planning and running youth and elite camps for the Cougars. He also performed graphic design work for the program.   Pepino served as a student assistant coach at Eureka for Stewart for two years, creating game scouting reports, leading and assisting player development and handing all recruiting for the program as well as graphic design and social media duties.   In addition to coaching his AAU team in the summer, Pepino is also a camp lead for Breakthrough Basketball, which provides a variety of resources and information for basketball coaches, trainers, players, parents, and fans. Breakthrough Basketball aims to provide individuals with comprehensive resources about the game of basketball and make a positive impact on players' lives either directly or by educating coaches and parents around the world.   Pepino earned a bachelor’s in Psychology from Eureka College in 2023. Updated 1/29/2026