Stephanie Butler

Hometown: Seneca, S.C. Position: Assistant Coach Experience: First Year

Alma Mater: Southern Wesleyan

Updated June 30, 2011

Stephanie Butler enters her first season at Southern Illinois, bringing with her 11 years experience coaching at the high school and college level.

Most recently, Butler served as the head girls basketball coach at Butler High School in Matthews, N.C., where she led the Bulldogs to a combined 121-26 record from 2006-10, including a 2010 North Carolina Class 4A state championship.

At BHS, Butler was named Southewestern 4A Conference coach of the year three times (2006, 08, 09), as the Bulldogs won the regular season conference title in 2008 and 2009 and took the conference tournament title all five years during her tenure. She coached three McDonald's All-America nominees at Butler, including McDonald's All-American and 2011 Tennessee signee Cierra Burdick.

Prior to her tenure at BHS, Butler served as the recruiting coordinator and assistant camp director at Division II Lander University for one season after serving two seasons as the assistant women's basketball coach and camp director at Division I Presbyterian College.

Butler had previous high school coaching stints at Gaffney High School in Gaffney, S.C. (2001-02), Byrnes High School in Duncan, S.C. (1999-2001), and Westside High School in Anderson, S.C. (1998-99). She has also spent 11 years as a physical education teacher.

A native of Seneca, S.C., Butler was a four-year starting point guard and two-year captain at Southern Wesleyan University from 1994-98. She earned her bachelor's in physical education from SWU in 1998 and is pursuing a master's in executive leadership through Gardener-Webb University.