Asbury University

Chad Mayes (Head Women's Basketball Coach: 8th Year)

Coaching Mission

• To create an environment where young women can grow spiritually, by using the game of basketball, to become strong, godly leaders in the world. 

Education / Coaching Credentials

• Attended the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville

Coaching Experience

• 25 years of coaching at various levels

• 2022-23 NCCAA Mideast Region Coach of the Year
• 2024-25 CCS Coach of the Year
• 2024-25 NCCAA Mideast Region Coach of the Year
• All-Time Winningest Coach in Program History

TeamAU History

• Assistant Women's Basketball Coach at Asbury 2016-2018
• Head Women's Basketball Coach at Asbury 2018-Present

Personal

• Favorite Bible verse, 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 "Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love."

• 2024-25 Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) Women's Basketball Coach of the Year (View Story Here)

Asbury University Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, Mark Whitworth, named Chad Mayes as the head coach of the women's basketball team in 2018. 

Coach Mayes led the Lady Eagles to their fourth straight 19-plus win season during the 2024-25 season in his seventh year at the helm of the program. He helped guide AU to their fourth straight NCCAA National Tournament bid, second NCCAA Mideast Region Title in three seasons, and to a CCS Regular Season Co-Championship in AU's first season as a part of the conference. Mayes was named the CCS and NCCAA Mideast Region Coach of the Year, and passed Bart Flener for the most wins by an Asbury women's basketball coach in program history at 121 wins. 

Coach Mayes and the women's basketball team completed the 2023-24 regular season on an eleven-game winning streak, taking them to a 19-10 record. Mayes recorded his 100th career win at Asbury on Jan. 30th in a 71-54 victory over Alice Lloyd. For the third time in such years, Coach Mayes and the women returned to the NCCAA National Tournament, placing seventh. Trinity Shearer was named as an NCCAA All-American for the second straight year and Haleigh Releford was named as NCCAA Second Team All-Region.

In 2022-23, Coach Mayes led Asbury to a NCCAA Mideast Region Championship and a trip to the NCCAA National Tournament for the second straight season. The season's 19-11 record took Coach Mayes to 86 wins in his first five seasons at Asbury. Junior Trinity Shearer was named an NCCAA All-American as well as four women's basketball student-athletes were named NCCAA Scholar-Athletes. 

For the second time in three seasons, Coach Mayes led Asbury to a 20-win season in 2021-22, this time going 21-7 for the most Asbury wins since 2015-16. The Eagles' successful season earned them a trip to the NCCAA National Tournament in Winona Lake, In.

Coach Mayes was able to lead senior Autumn Herriford to earning multiple awards in 2021-22, including being named a 2022 NCCAA All-American, the 2022 NCCAA Kathy Freese-Peabody Award winner, and setting the Asbury women's basketball school record for career points at 1,675. 

In the 2020-21 season Coach Mayes took AU to a 15-6 season including a 9-3 home record and a win over top-five ranked Southeastern University. AU took a six-game winning streak during the season and fell on a buzzer-beating three in the River States Conference Semifinal to West Virginia Tech University. 

In Coach Mayes' second season leading Asbury women's basketball he led the Eagles to 20 wins for their first time since 2015-16. AU won 12 of their first 15 games of the season taking key victories over the University of the Cumberlands, Cumberland University, Pikeville, and Grace College. Zaria Napier was named River States Conference (RSC) Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-Conference while Autumn Herriford was named to the RSC Second Team All-Conference. 

The first season Coach Mayes led Asbury women's basketball the Eagles recovered from just a six-win previous season to win 11 games and show signs of what was to come under his leadership. AU had one All-Conference selection in Kelsey Johnson on the year. Rachel Lopez was named to the Champions of Character Team as well. 

Mayes has more than 20 years of coaching experience in Central Kentucky, has been an assistant coach at Asbury and has worked with the university for a number of years helping to organize and lead team mission trips.

"It is my privilege to welcome Coach Mayes as the leader of the Asbury women's basketball program," Whitworth said. "His involvement as a men's and women's coach in Central Kentucky for the past two decades provides him with the strong leadership and experience that will benefit our program. Chad also understands and embraces Asbury's commitment to service and ministry, leading many of our student-athletes and teams on international mission trips in recent years."

Mayes spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach for the Eagles and the past eight seasons as the head assistant coach for the Boyle County High School girls basketball team.

"I am so excited about this opportunity," Mayes said. "To have the chance to lead a college program like Asbury University is a dream come true for me. I've grown up in this area, so I'm very familiar with Asbury and have always had a love for the school and the students here."

Mayes, along with his wife, Chandi, founded the LYNC8 Project, a nonprofit organization that works in the United States and Latin America with college students and young adults, serving the needs of others and sharing the Gospel. Mayes has coordinated summer mission trips to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic for several of Asbury's sports teams the past seven years.

"My wife and I were talking about how we feel God has been involved in this from the very beginning," Mayes said. "Coach Will Shouse of the men's basketball team, contacted me seven years ago about setting up a mission trip for him and his team to Puerto Rico to share the Gospel by serving and playing basketball.

"After leading his team, I began a partnership with the AU athletic teams that has taken us to Puerto Rico many times and even to the Dominican Republic to work on safe houses for underage girls rescued from sex trafficking. It all started with one simple phone call and now I'm the head coach at the university that I have so much respect for because of not only who they employ, but the students they train to send into the world to make a difference."

Mayes' coaching career started as an assistant for the boys basketball team at Harrodsburg High School where he helped the team win the 1996 12th Region championship. He served as an assistant for the Mercer County boys and girls basketball teams, being a part of the boys 2000 region title, and coached teams in Puerto Rico.

Mayes has also built a distinguished law enforcement career, serving as an officer for the Kentucky State Police and the Harrodsburg and Lexington Metro police departments.

MAYES' CAREER NUMBERS

Year by Year at Asbury University

Career Totals