LindseyGray-Walton

Lindsey Gray-Walton begins her eighth season as an assistant coach with the Wildcats in 2017 after being hired to the position in January of 2010.

Gray-Walton serves as the Wildcats’ recruiting coordinator. Each of her seven signing classes have ranked among the top 25 in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com. The 2016 class ranked No. 5 in the nation and was the highest-ranked in program history.

In her first season with the Blue and White, Gray-Walton helped guide Kentucky to its sixth consecutive winning season and sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Gray-Walton and the Wildcats then totaled a 28-6 overall record, a second-place finish in the SEC, a top-15 national ranking to conclude the season and an appearance in the NCAA Regionals in 2011. UK played in front of the largest crowd during the Craig Skinner era in the Regional appearance against top-seeded Texas.

In January of 2012, Gray-Walton was named to the AVCA’s “Top 30 Coaches Under 30.”

Kentucky’s third season with her on staff saw the Blue and White march on to its second-straight Sweet 16 appearance following a 22-11 overall record. UK finished the season ranked No. 20 in the nation.

In 2013, the Wildcats went 22-9 and advanced to their ninth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Senior Whitney Billings became the program’s first-ever three-time All-America selection – all under Gray-Walton’s tenure with the team. UK hosted the First and Second Rounds of the NCAA Tournament and followed by the NCAA Regionals. It marked the first time in the Skinner era that UK hosted two weekends of the NCAA Tournament in the same season.

The 2014 squad logged a 27-6 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th consecutive season becoming one of just 10 schools in the nation to achieve the feat. Setter Morgan Bergren earned All-America second-team honors, while Jackie Napper became the third player in program history to earn SEC Libero of the Year honors.

In 2015, the Wildcats reached their program-record 11th-consecutive NCAA tournament following a 21-10 season. Kentucky led the SEC in service aces, averaging 1.51 per set in league play. Bergren, along with Ashley Dusek and Kaz Brown, earned All-SEC nods, while Bergren and Dusek took home AVCA All-America honors.

In Gray-Walton’s most recent season, the Wildcats went to the NCAA Tournament once again. Gray-Walton helped freshman Leah Edmond earn third-team All-America honors and SEC Freshman of the Year, while Ashley Dusek and Olivia Dailey were also named All-America.

Gray-Walton previously spent a year as the recruiting coordinator for the College of Charleston. She is a 2008 graduate of Georgia Tech where she was an All-Atlantic Coast Conference player.

The College of Charleston went 18-13 overall and fell to Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2009. Additionally the Cougars claimed the Southern Conference tournament crown for the conference’s automatic bid to the national tournament in Gray’s first season with the squad.

At Georgia Tech she was a member of three 20-plus win teams, including a 27-7 team that went 16-0 in ACC play during her freshman season. That team went on to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and defeat Georgia and No. 16 UC Santa Barbara before falling in the Sweet Sixteen to Minnesota. As a junior she was an All-ACC second team member and she also earned ACC Player of the Week honors in 2006.

Gray-Walton concluded her career ranking among the Yellow Jackets’ all-time greats as she ranked sixth in career service aces, fifth in service aces per game (0.33) and sixth in the single-season record books with 53 aces in 2006.

Gray-Walton served as coach at summer camps both at Georgia Tech and Emory University throughout her playing career. She also served as the head coach of the Tsunami Volleyball Club based out of Atlanta beginning in 2007.

Gray-Walton graduated in 2008 from Georgia Tech with a Bachelor of Science degree in management, with certificates in both marketing and management.

A native of Olathe, Kan., she married Kyle Walton in May of 2012. Walton is the head coach at nearby Transylvania University. The couple lives in Lexington, and has one daughter, Berkley.