Our Staff
Leadership Team
Austin Knight, Associate Director of Athletics for Student-Athlete Academic Services
austin.knight@louisiana.edu
Austin Knight joined the Ragin’ Cajun staff in September 2024 as Associate Director of Athletics for Student-Athlete Academic Services. He oversees the Student-Athlete Academic Center’s team of four academic counselors, two learning specialists, and two graduate assistants. He also works directly with men’s basketball, men’s tennis, and women’s tennis while providing additional support for football.
Knight came to UL after six years at Southeastern Louisiana University. He began his career in Hammond in June 2018 as an academic counselor working with baseball, softball, women’s basketball, women’s soccer, beach volleyball, and indoor volleyball. During this time, he also served as the advisor for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. In February 2020, he was promoted to Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Support Services. In this role, he continued providing academic support for baseball, softball, women’s soccer, and both volleyball teams while also overseeing the Dick & Glory Sharp Academic Center and its staff. He was also heavily involved with the reporting of APR data, eligibility certification, and the evaluation of eligibility for potential transfer student-athletes.
Knight graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science in Sport Administration with concentrations in Sport Commerce and Sport Leadership in 2016. He earned his Master of Arts in Education with a specialization in Higher Education Administration from LSU in 2018. During his graduate studies, he served as a graduate assistant in the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes and worked directly with student-athletes from the swimming and diving, gymnastics, baseball, men’s and women’s golf, and men’s and women’s tennis teams.
Knight is a member of the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics. Originally a native of Mt. Hermon, Louisiana, he currently resides in Lafayette with his wife, Meagan and their dog, Chloe.
Ashlee Jennings, Director of Learning Services
ashlee.jennings@louisiana.edu
Ashlee Jennings, a native of Dickson, TN, joined the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Student-Athlete Academic Services (SAAS) staff as a learning specialist in the summer of 2017. In 2021, she became Director of Learning Services and added oversight of other full-time Learning Specialists as well as the office’s graduate assistants. She also oversees the student-athlete mentor and tutor programs.
Additionally, Jennings served as the Interim Director of Student-Athlete Academic Services to help with the transition in leadership from June to Septermber 2024. In that time, she developed relationships with numerous on-campus offices and furthered her academic advising knowledge.
Jennings graduated from Tennessee Tech with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education/English. She earned her Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from Austin Peay University in Clarksville, TN.
She previously served as an assistant learning specialist at the University of Tennessee’s Thornton Athletics Student Life Center. Prior to UT and UL, she was also a high school English teacher at Dickson County (TN) High School for 8 years.
Jennings is a member of Kappa Delta Sorority and the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics.
Jessica Leger, Deputy Director of Athletics/Senior Woman Administrator
jessica@louisiana.edu
Dr. Jessica Leger became the Ragin' Cajuns Assistant Director of Athletics for Compliance in the summer of 2007. She is responsible for Sun Belt Conference and NCAA rules and regulations including student-athlete eligibility and rules compliance. In 2012, she gained oversight of the Student-Athlete Academic Services Center and became the University's Senior Woman Administrator (SWA). She also serves as the coordinator for the Student-Athlete Affairs program and is the advisor for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Dr. Leger joined the Athletics Department staff after spending three years in the teaching profession. A former member of the Ragin' Cajuns softball team, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2003. She later earned her Master of Education degree in education administration with a supervision concentration from the University in May 2006. She received her Ph.D. in higher education administration in 2010 from Louisiana State University.
As a student, she was an active member of the Louisiana academic community and student body serving as the Student Government Association President and Homecoming Queen in 2002. Dr. Leger was also the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's Outstanding Graduate in the Spring 2003.
Dr. Leger and her husband, Lance, reside in Lafayette, LA with their daughter, Estelle and son, Landon.
Academic Advisors
Terry Latiolais, Academic Counselor
terry@louisiana.edu
Terry Latiolais is an Academic Counselor for Student-Athlete Academic Services. She joined the Student-Athlete Academic Services staff in 2005 as the Administrative Coordinator. In 2024, she was promoted to Academic Counselor, overseeing Men’s Baseball, Men’s Golf, Women’s Basketball, Women’s Soccer, and Women’s Volleyball.
Additionally, Terry oversees the office’s technology loans and continues to serve in an administrative capacity during the transition between positions.
Terry is a native of Baldwin, LA. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, known at the time as the University of Southwestern Louisiana.
Prior to working in SAAS, Terry worked for the Biology Department at the University from 2002 to 2005. She also worked in the Office of International Affairs from 1983 to 1993. She currently resides in the Breaux Bridge area and is the proud mother of one, Gary Price, who also graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in December of 1992.
Latiolais is a member of the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics.
Miranda Hayes, Academic Counselor
miranda.hayes1@louisiana.edu
Miranda Hayes joined the Student-Athlete Academic Services staff in March of 2023 as the Academic Counselor for Men’s Football. In June of 2024, she added oversight of Men’s Basketball, Men’s Tennis, and Women’s Tennis. In addition to serving as an Academic Counselor, she also serves as the office’s Web Ambassador, Continuing Eligibility Certification specialist, and Teamworks liaison.
Prior to working for SAAS, Hayes was the Assistant Director of On-Campus Recruiting for Louisiana Football. As a student, she was an intern for both the Recruiting and Player Engagement departments. She earned her Bachelor’s of General Studies with a concentration in Applied Sciences from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in May of 2022. She is a native of Prairieville, LA but has resided in Lafayette since August of 2016.
Hayes is a member of Tri Sigma Sorority and the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics. She has two younger sisters, Maddie and Makenna, who are the light of her life.
Kayla Robles Starcher, Academic Counselor
kayla.robles@louisiana.edu
Kayla Starcher, a native of Flowery Branch, GA, joined the SAAS staff as an Academic Counselor in the summer of 2024 as the academic counselor for Men's Track, Women's Track, and Women's Softball. Prior to joining the SAAS staff, she was a College of Business Advisor at Northern Kentucky University, and was the Director of Compliance and Academic Services at Brevard College.
Kayla holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from Valdosta State University, where she was a soccer student-athlete. As a student, she was heavily involved on campus: Robles was an orientation leader, student ambassador, and represented the Gulf South Conference on the National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Robles holds a Masters of Sports Administration and Masters of Business Administration from Ohio University. Prior to graduate school, she was an NCAA Post-Graduate Intern, working with the Academic Membership Affairs Department.
She and her husband, Trevor Starcher reside in Lafayette with their cat, Maddox.
Rochelle Owens, Academic Counselor
rochelle.owens@louisiana.edu
Graduate Assistants
Jamie Sprague
Jamie is a Lafayette native who joined the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Student-Athlete Academic Center team as a tutor in the summer of 2021. She also served as an academic mentor, helping facilitate academic success and progress for UL's student-athletes. Jamie is a UL graduate, holding a bachelor's degree in Business Management. She was named the Department of Management's Outstanding Graduate in Spring of 2024, and was hired as a graduate assistant immediately after graduating. She is currently working on her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
Kinley Frey
Kinley joined the SAAS team as a graduate assistant in fall of 2023. A Lafayette native, Kinley graduated from UL with a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations with a minor in Promotional Management. She is now pursuing her MBA in healthcare administration, with hopes to work in a healthcare facility in the health administration sector.