STUNT and Cheer Head Coach

Bio

Kaylee King begins her fourth season as the head coach of the Centenary College Competitive Cheer program and her second at the helm of the STUNT program.

The Ladies finished eighth in the country in the division III rankings out of 13 teams this season as the first and only NCAA Varsity STUNT team in the state of Louisiana and the only DIII team in the south. In total, the team went 163 rounds of play averaging 10 rounds of play per game with four athletes earning all 163 rounds. 

Three Centenary College STUNT student-athletes were named to the College STUNT Coaches Association Academic Honor Roll for the 2025 season.

Senior Avery Cauley (Little Rock, Ark.), junior Jo Hoffman (Ragley, La.), and sophomore Alli Ledoux (Port Barre, La.) were honored with the prestigious academic distinction on Tuesday as the College STUNT Coaches Association recognizes these outstanding student athletes for their success in the classroom. Nominated student-athletes have a cumulative GPA above a 3.50 and have completed a minimum of 24 credits/units at their current STUNT institution.

Three Ladies were named All-Americans by the College STUNT Coaches Association (CSCA), the organization announced on Wednesday.

Senior Avery Cauley (Little Rock, Ark.), sophomore Ezmeriah Gonzalez (Longview, Texas), and sophomore J'Anna Sweat (Pitkin, La.) all earned the prestigious honor as Cauley was named to the First Team, Sweat to the Second Team, and Gonzales earned Honorable-Mention honors.

The number of athletes from each team receiving All-American honors is based on the end of the season ranking for each team. The Ladies' eighth-place final ranking allotted them one honoree for each category. All-Americans are selected by the members of the College STUNT Coach Association.

All nominees had to meet the following criteria:
-Participate in all 4 quarters of competition (Partner Stunts, Pyramids & Tosses, Jumps & Tumbling, Team Routine)
-Participate in at least 50% of games played
-Be a vital component to the team's success and have that shown by their routines.

Last Fall, Centenary athletics announced the addition of STUNT with competition to begin Spring 2025, and is the first collegiate program in the State of Louisiana.

USA Cheer created STUNT as an opportunity for colleges, universities and high schools to meet the strict Title IX requirements of a sport. With more than 500,000 high school cheerleaders, STUNT expands participation opportunities for young women by providing an avenue for female athletes to use their cheerleading background in a new format.

STUNT, according to USACheer.org, is "One of the fastest growing female sports in the country, and removes the crowd-leading element and focuses on the technical and athletic components of cheer, including partner stunts, pyramids, basket tosses, group jumps and tumbling.

King led the Maroon and White to a superb season in 2023-24 as Centenary earned three national runner-up finishes at the United Spirit Association Collegiate Championships in February in Anaheim, Calif. The Maroon and White, which earned two runner ups and an additional third-place finish on day one of the USA Collegiate Championships, competed in the college game day division where they were crowned national runner-up in the fight song and band chant division and brought home third place in the situational sideline division. The team posted season and program-high scores in each routine earning a 94.9/100 in fight song, 96.4/100 in situational sideline, and 96.8/100 in band chant. 

Centenary Cheer was also named Star Spirit Nationals Virtual Finale Champions for the College Game Day Division after competing in the Star Spirit Productions Nationals in May. The bid was awarded to the team's game time routine that was performed in February in Baton Rouge.

King led her programs to amazing success in her first season as both the Cheer and Dance teams recorded three top-five finishes to cap off an outstanding showing in the USA Collegiate Championships in Anaheim, Calif. in February.

Centenary competed in the College Game Day Division. The teams put out three one-minute performances in the fight song, band chant, and situational categories. The team finished fourth in band chant out of 11 teams competing, fourth in situational out of nine, and fifth out of 12 teams in fight song.

The team sported three hit zero routines and received their highest scores of the season. Centenary was the only DIII school competing in the game day category that was comprised of two- and four-year colleges of all divisions.

The "Leading Ladies" Dance Team also took the floor in their hip-hop routine as they put out two solid performances and boasted some of their highest scores after making key adjustments between prelims and finals. The four-year college hip-hop division boasted schools from all divisions including a team from Tokyo, Japan and the current USA Nationals Champions - NAU.

Dance finished a decorated season as second runner-up in both the hip hop and Pom DIII/NAIA category in the American ADTS Collegiate Championships at the campus of the University of North Texas in March. The Leading Ladies finished behind University of Mary-Hardin Baylor for POM and Texas Wesleyan University and UT-Dallas in hip-hop.

The team received their highest scores of the season and receiving a DI ranking, which is the highest ranking possible and is awarded to routines that receive a 91-100 per judge, from all judges in each performance. Notably, the team scored two perfect scores in choreography for their Pom routine and boasted straight 91/100 in their hip-hop scores.

When the teams scores of their two performances were averaged together against the averages of all the other DIII/NAIA schools in all categories, the team placed 5th runner-up overall. The team was also awarded for their academics placing 5th overall with a team GPA of a 3.25. The three solos performed by junior April Jones (Longview, Texas), freshman Jo Hoffman (Ragley, La.), and junior Nyla Pierce (Ruston, La.) all received DI rankings and noted scores of 91 and higher per judge. 

King, who also serves as the Spirit Coordinator for the department, comes to Centenary from Angelo State University, an NCAA Division II school in San Angelo, Texas, were she served as Head Cheer Coach since 2017. She previously served as Head Cheer Coach and Assistant Sports Information Director at Ancilla College in Donaldson, Ind. from 2014-17.

King graduated from Michigan State University where she was a member of the All-Girl cheer team from 2010-12. She has 10+ years of experience in cheer coaching, choreography – game day & competition, equipment management, and tumbling (teaching & spotting). King also has 5+ years of experience in NCAA Division III Game day experience and seven years of budgeting experience.

King’s Head Coaching Accomplishments:

Angelo State University:

USA Game Day Band Chant & Situational National Champions - 2021

College Classic National Champion and Runner-Up Stunt Group - 2021

USA Game Day Band Chant & Situational National Champion - 2020

USA Collegiate Championship National Champions - 2019

USA Collegiate Championship National Champions 2018

Created a competitive team after 10+ years of not having one

Built the program from 12 athletes to over 40 athletes in less than five seasons.

NCA Bronze Bid Recipients

Ancilla College:

First competitive cheer team in school history at Ancilla College

NCA College Nationals Bronze Bid – First Season

Four first place finishes in inaugural competitive season

JamFest National Championship | Sevierville, TN – First Season

Largest team in school history - (2015-16) Eighteen & (2016-17) Twenty-Four