Kris Stewart is the newest addition of theBrenau University coaching staff. As he joins the Golden Tigers basketball team for the first time this year, he also prepares for his debut season as a collegiate head coach.

Stewart replaces Gary Bays, the first coach of the five-year-old Golden Tigers team, who resigned at the end of the 2010-2011 season after the team finished with a 13-16 won-loss record in the NAIA.

From 2000-2002, Kris served as assistant coach at Austin College in Sherman, Tex. He then moved to basketball-crazy central North Carolina, where he guided the Forbush High School Falcons to five straight playoff appearances and a 74-42 record during his time at the helm from 2002-2007. Stewart was named the Mountain Valley Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, in 2002, in his first year at the East Bend, N.C., school. For the past year, Kris has held the position of assistant basketball coach at the NCAA Division II Lees-McRae College, while also taking on the role of director of instructional technology on the college's education faculty.

The Atlanta-area native graduated from Duluth High School in Gwinnett County, and later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Lees-McRae, located in Banner Elk, N.C. He then completed his Masters in Education from the University of Missouri in Columbia. In addition to coaching, Stewart has acquired some other impressive titles on his resume, such as director of residence life and associate dean of students at the college.

"I know that Brenau is definitely the right place for me and my family," Stewart said. "The newness of the basketball program appeals to me. The team is very young, but very talented. The program has a solid foundation and needs the right person with the right personality to continue building. I believe that my approach to teaching the game will be beneficial to helping this team grow."

"The conference has a number of talented teams and experienced, veteran coaches," Stewart continued. "I'm looking forward to the competition."

Beth Henson is a native of Gainesville, GA and has been actively involved with the Brenau Basketball team for four seasons now.  She will currently begin her second season as assistant coach to the Golden Tigers this year. 

Beth was a standout post player for Gainesville High School, and began her collegiate playing career at the University of Georgia, in 2000.  After winning an SEC Tournament Championship with the Lady Dawgs, Henson transferred to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) where she completed her college playing years as an All-Conference post player for the Lady Bees. 

Kendall Shepard enters her first year at Brenau, as a graduate assistant, after earning a Bachelor's of Sceience from the University of North Carolina at Asheville. She received her BS in Management with a concentration in Business Administration, and a minor in Economics.

While this is Kendall's first coaching job, after playing collegiate basketball, she is eager to start the season of right, with newly appointed Head Coach, Kris Stewart. "I am very appreciative of the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in the field of coaching, in the game I love", commented Shepard.

Shepard was a four year starter and two year captain at UNC Asheville, where she competed in the Big South Conference. Within her four year tenure at UNC Asheville, she became a member of the UNC Asheville 1,000 career point club, and made 2nd Team All-Big South Conference her senior year. In Shepard's final game she scored a career high of 28 points against Gardner-Webb University, who ended up becoming Tournament Champs.