The Baton Rouge, Louisiana native Seimone Augustus has returned to her alma mater for a new opportunity. The former WNBA star played for the Minnesota Lynx and was the #1 overall pick in the 2006 draft. She was part of the franchisee till 2019 and moved to LA Sparks for one final season.

Later she started her coaching career with Sparks as an assistant coach from 2021 to 2022. Now she has returned to LSU to join the women’s basketball staff as an assistant coach and aid head Coach Kim Mulkey. Despite the professional success that Augustus received, she was also subjected to major flak for her decision to marry LaTaya Varner. But, she stood her ground.

Where did Seimone Augustus meet Varner for the first time?

After moving to Minnesota, Augustus met Varner in a Minneapolis club. “We saw each other at the beginning of the evening, but I was too scared to go talk to her…At the end of the night, I worked up the nerve to ask her to dance. There’s something you should know about me: I can’t dance. I kind of stood there, doing the one-two step, while she danced around me. Still, I got her number,” She spoke to The Players’ Tribune in 2015.

Recalling her first date she said how both of them were nervous and eventually decided on a double date. It seemed Varner was way more anxious as she ended up calling her mother every 10 minutes. “It was new for both of us; we’d each only dated people we somewhat knew from our own inner circles. This time, we were both complete strangers. Maybe it’s better that way — more exciting but also completely terrifying.”

In 2010 Augustus popped the question to Varner in Miami. The 4x WNBA champion arranged for two sandcastles to be built on the beach, with a ribbon going through. There was a small crowd forming, and it was around sunset when Augustus asked Varner to check the surroundings. And as she turned, “I pulled the ring out of my pocket. She turned back and saw me with the ring. She started to cry. ‘An older woman in the crowd asked “Well, what did she say?’ She said yes.”

In 2015 they got married where Varner’s family resided. Varner is part Hawaiian so sharing the biggest day of their life with family was important for them. The 2011 final MVP had only two unique requests for her wedding. “Can I wear sneakers, and can we have red velvet cake?”

The couple were married for a short time, Seimone Augustus and Varner divorced in 2018.

Seimone Augustus on LSU assistant coaching role

“It is an exciting day for the LSU Women’s Basketball program to bring Seimone Augustus back to join our staff,” Coach Mulkey said as Augustus became the first female athlete at her alma mater to have a jersey retired. It’s a great honor for athletes, especially at LSU, where only high-profile players’ jerseys are retired including Shaquille O’Neal‘s.

“Life always guides you to where you belong,” Augustus said. “Thus, my path has led me home. Gracing me with an opportunity to further my coaching career within a program that I hold dearly. They say experience is the greatest teacher, I am truly excited about the knowledge and wisdom I will gain working alongside of legendary Coach Mulkey and reconnecting with my former coach, Coach Bob Starkey. A Fighting Tiger once more, I look forward to pouring into this generation of Lady Tigers. Once A Tiger, Always A Tiger. A new chapter begins. See you at the PMAC.”

Augustus was part of the legendary run where the Tigers consecutively finished in three final four runs. She also became the first LSU female student-athlete to be honored with her own statue in LSU’s Plaza of Legacy in January 2023. LSU lost to Iowa Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight last season and will hope for a better finish with the addition of Seimone Augustus.