NO.lsuwbb.102425 HS 2529.JPG

LSU assistant coach Daphne Mitchell, left, sits with LSU director of player personnel and influence Jennifer Roberts on the bench against Mississippi College in an exhibition game, Thursday, October 23, 2025, at the LSU PMAC in Baton Rouge, La.

 STAFF PHOTO BY HILARY SCHEINUK

Coach will now have to fill two openings on her staff this offseason.

Mulkey said Sunday that assistant coach Daphne Mitchell is leaving the Tigers so she can work at Rutgers under — the former LSU assistant who took the Scarlet Knights’ head coaching job last Sunday.

Neither Mitchell, nor Redus, will accompany LSU for its NCAA Tournament run. Mulkey said she doesn’t expect either of their absences to affect how the Tigers will prepare for their upcoming postseason matchups.

“Daphne and (Redus) are our recruiters, OK?†Mulkey said. “I have one person that does scout reports. And that's Bob (Starkey). So, Bob will do what he normally does, and on the floor coaching, you'll just move Seimone (Augustus) to fill in for (Redus) on passing drills and probably move maybe Joe (Schwartz) down here with Bob.â€

Mitchell worked primarily with LSU’s post players. She joined Mulkey’s Baylor staff in 2015, then followed her to Baton Rouge in 2021. She played her collegiate basketball at Georgia Tech from 2004-08 alongside Redus’ wife, Tiffany. Mulkey on Tuesday that she expected Mitchell to follow Redus to Rutgers.

Redus joined Mulkey’s staff in 2022, then quickly emerged as one of the top recruiters in the country. He helped the Tigers land two No. 1 freshman classes — first in 2023 and again in 2025. Now he’s working at Rutgers under former LSU president William Tate and former LSU athletics administrator Keli Zinn, who’s now the Scarlet Knights’ athletic director.

Mulkey said Tuesday that she encouraged Redus to leave the Tigers ahead of the NCAA Tournament.

“As I told him,†Mulkey said, “‘You can’t be married to two wives.’ I said, ‘Get out of here, go to work, get your staff in place, get your kids that are there to stay.’ He hasn’t even visited Rutgers. He took the job over the phone or whatever.

“I know his love for our program and our team, he’d want to be on the bench for us too. But as a mentor, I can’t be selfish and ask him to stay with our team because this could be a long three- or four-week process with the playoffs. You need to be working.â€

Mulkey last filled an opening on her staff in 2024, when she hired LSU great to fill the job her former longtime assistant Johnny Derrick left behind when he retired.

This season, the Tigers landed a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament — their highest seed since 2008. They were assigned to the Sacramento 2 region of the bracket underneath No. 1 seed UCLA but ahead of No. 3 seed Duke and No. 4 seed Minnesota. They’ll host the first two rounds of the tournament again starting Friday with a Round of 64 matchup with No. 15 seed Jacksonville.

If LSU gets past the Dolphins, then it’ll face either No. 7 seed Texas Tech or No. 10 seed Villanova in the second round on Sunday.

Email Reed Darcey at reed.darcey@theadvocate.com. For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at Ìý