Lady GreenJays Finish Another Successful Basketball Season Under the Leadership of Coach Kelvin Lester

The Lady GreenJays basketball team finished another successful season with Coach Kelvin Lester being named the Coach of the Year for the West Division by the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association (TCCAA). Makayla Transou was named to the 1st Team All TCCAA, and Kamille Clark was named to the 2nd Team All TCCAA.

The Lady GreenJays also were crowned TCCAA West Division Champions for the regular season for the first time since 1989. The team's record was 12-5 in a season shortened by the COVID pandemic.

When Lester took over as head coach full-time in 2016, the woman's program was struggling. The team had won only 31 games in the previous six seasons.

In his first season as full-time head coach, Lester led Jackson State to its first winning season since 1996. In another accomplishment, the team began the 2019-2020 season with a 13-2 record - winning the first nine games.

Since Lester became head coach, the Lady GreenJays has compiled a 69-51 record. The regular-season wins were the most wins since the 1980s. Not counting members of the 2021 class, 14 players have signed scholarships to play at universities. In the past six years, 12 players have been named to All-TCCAA teams, 13 players have been named to the All-TCCAA Academic teams, and three players have been named National Junior College Athletic Association All-Academic Team.

Lester began his career at Jackson State in 2013 as an assistant to both men's and women's basketball programs. He remained the men's assistant coach through the 2017-2018 season while becoming the women's basketball head coach in 2016. Lester also was the head coach of both the men's and women's programs during the 2018-2019 season.

Besides his coaching duties, Coach Lester serves on multiple committees on campus. He is also an adjunct Psychology and College to Career Navigation professor.