Just a week after leaving the head women's basketball coaching post at Florida Gulf Coast University, Chelsea Lyles is now part of the Atlanta Dream WNBA coaching staff, joining two other former FGCU coaches.
The Atlanta Dream announced Monday the completion of its 2025 coaching staff, adding Lyles to the staff as an assistant coach. She will join with former FGCU assistant coach Camryn Brown, also named Monday as an assistant coach, under former FGCU head coach and now Atlanta Head Coach Karl Smesko.
Lyles and Brown join assistant coaches Brandi Poole and LaToya Sanders, who were added to the team in January.
The Dream posted a release about the hiring: "Lyles and Brown join the Dream from Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), where they served on Smesko’s staff before joining the Dream. Lyles was elevated to Head Coach for the 2024-25 season, leading the Eagles to a 30-3 overall record, including an undefeated 18-0 mark in Atlantic Sun Conference play. They won their ninth consecutive ASUN Tournament title and secured a 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Following the season, Lyles was named the ASUN Coach of the Year."
“Chelsea is an exceptional basketball mind with a profound ability to connect with players on a human level,” said Smesko. “She knows how to bring out the best in them, and her adaptability and leadership will be a tremendous asset to our team.”
It was just last Monday that Lyles announced she was stepping down as the Eagles' head women's basketball coach.
The university posted the information on its women's athletics site Monday and issued a release.
"Over the past 17 years as an Eagle, I have made unforgettable memories, learned big lessons, experienced the joy of success and the mantle of leadership,." Lyles said in the posted story. " I have so much gratitude for the people that made my time here special and will cherish the relationships made with student-athletes for a lifetime. This year was special, and I am very proud of what this team was able to accomplish this season and thank them for the memories,."
Lyles just completed her first season as head coach, but is a longtime Eagle, rising through the coaching ranks after starting at FGCU as a student-athlete in 2008. Lyles officially joined the staff as an assistant coach in 2011 and entered the 2024-25 season in her sixth year as an associate head coach with a 148-20 record.
She took the Eagles to the NCAA Division I tournament where they lost in the first round 81-58 to the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, Oklahoma.
"FGCU has been a constant for me for so long and change is inevitable. With mixed emotions, I've come to the decision that it is time for me to leave the nest. FGCU has a bright future, and I will always cheer for the Eagles and be an Eagle myself," Lyles continued. "My most sincere gratitude to previous head coach Karl Smesko, President Timur, Athletic Director Hargis and our administration, the talented coaches I have worked with, our incredible fans and the student-athletes I have been blessed to know. I would not be the person I am today without their trust and support."
As the second head coach in FGCU's women's basketball program, Lyles stepped into the role early in the 2024-2025 season after the departure of Smesko to the Dream.
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