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When the LaGrange College women’s basketball team takes the court to start the 2025-26 season in the fall, they will have their third different coach in as many seasons. Steven Kenner will be stepping into the shoes as head coach of the Panthers.

“This team really needs somebody who knows them and can connect with them and I’ve been here two years and have had my feet planted here at LaGrange College,” Kenner said. 

Kenner took a position as the head of the Panther Academic Center for Excellence (PACE) in 2023. The head coaching job came open not long after his arrival, but the timing was not right.

“It just wasn’t the right time when I first got here,” he said. “Coaching has always been a passion of mine, and as the director of PACE, I’m still coaching, just not athletics.”

Despite not coaching basketball in the 2024-25 season, Kenner comes into the position with a rich history in coaching. There have been 12 different coaching roles for Kenner from 1999 to 2023. His coaching roles have come at all levels of the game from DI to DIII and his experience is highlighted by head coaching stints at Emory & Henry College (2009-11), Southeastern Illinois College (2017-19), Pratt Community College (2020-21) and most recently at Auburn University at Montgomery (2021-23).

Kenner came to LaGrange College from AUM almost two years ago to work alongside his wife, Dr. Kerry Kenner, the dean of students. 

The 2024-25 season was an up-and-down affair for the Panthers. The team finished the season 15-12, punctuated by a 72-54 loss to eventual conference champions Piedmont in the Collegiate Conference of the South tournament semifinals. The Panthers finished fourth in the regular season conference standings and Kenner has already had individual meetings with players on the team to see if they are ready to bridge the gap between where the team is and where they want to be.

“I’ve had individual meetings with them, and they’ve all said, ‘Look, we want to win a championship, and we want to go to the NCAA tournament.’ My dream is for them to do that as well, but I also want to create a positive, energetic environment, while making sure that they understand that it’s going to take a little bit more than what they are used to giving to win a championship and to get rings and get to the NCAA tournament. I told them they are going to have to put in a little bit extra effort,” Kenner said. 

The work for Kenner has already begun. The newly-minted head coach is already on the recruiting trail to get some talented young freshmen in while also trying to keep the current team he inherited intact. 

“There’s a lot of factors you look at. For me, it is understanding the individual and what it is that they’re looking for, and if I can provide that for them, it’s got to be a two-way street. It can’t just be me trying to sell you on the vision. It’s got to also be, are you willing to buy in and are you willing to be engaged with the process?” Kenner said. 

“It’s been a whirlwind. There’s a lot going on. I’m balancing two jobs- well, three. I’m the director of PACE, I’m also one of the members of our retention management, and I’m also now the head women’s basketball coach, so I’m recruiting for women’s basketball,” he added 

The next few months will be crucial in helping and building the foundation and identity of the program under Kenner. The work to transform the program has already begun.   

“It’s more of a we program. It’s not just my program. It’s about the collective. So, I want the players to feel more involved in the program, and that’s going to help set us up for the future when we bring in other recruits, understanding that, hey, we’re leaving a tradition behind for them to continue to build,” Kenner said.