Kayla Hankins begins her 13th year as Jones' cheer coach and fifth as the assistant athletic director for compliance and eligibility this fall.
She led the Bobcat cheer squad to consecutive UCA & UDA Open Coed National Titles in 2021 and 2022, the first two in program history.
The 2023 squad placed third and 2020 squad placed second in the UCA College Championship Open Coed Division.
The Bobcats are a competitive squad that cheers at all football games, home basketball games, pep rallies and other events in the community. They travel with teams to playoff games, tournaments and also compete in Orlando annually in the UCA College National Championships.
Hankins helps with scheduling and advisement of all student-athletes and teaches a psychology of personal adjustment class.
The Hattiesburg native started at Jones as the assistant cheer coach and working in the recruiting office.
Hankins was a member of the nationally-ranked Bobcat cheerleading squad from 2005-07 and served as captain of the coed squad. She continued cheering at Southern Mississippi from 2007-09.
Hankins has an MEd counseling services with an emphasis in higher education and bachelor of science in psychology, both from Southern Mississippi.
Kayla and her husband Martin, an NFL official, have a daughter, Lillian Kate, and a son, Klein.
Former Bobcat Kate Broom joins the cheer staff as an assistant ahead of the 2023-24 sports season.
Other duties for Broom in her student affairs role include scheduling student activities on campus and intramurals.
Broom cheered at Jones from 2018-20 and went on to don the sidelines and courts at the University of Alabama from 2020-23 while completing her bachelor's in kinesiology.
Broom has coached gymnastics at Laurel Gym & Cheer, worked with youth teams in Laurel and is currently a competition coach for West Jones High School, where she graduated in 2018.
The Laurel native will marry Southern Miss outfielder, Reece Ewing, in January 2024.