LaDon Champagnie enters his third year as a full-time assistant coach at Southeast Missouri.
Champagnie initially joined SEMO’s staff as Director of Operations before being promoted to assistant coach on July 31, 2023. He spent two years as the Redhawks Director of Operations prior to taking over his new role.
Champagnie helped guide the Redhawks to two Ohio Valley Conference championships in the last three years. SEMO won the OVC Tournament and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 23 years during the 2022-23 season before winning its first outright OVC regular-season title in 2024-25.
He coached a pair of All-OVC performers in guards Chris Harris and Phillip Russell. Both Harris and Russell were 1,000-point scorers in their careers and made the OVC All-Tournament Team in 2022-23. Two years later, Champagnie helped coach First-Team All-OVC guards Rob Martin and Teddy Washington, Jr., and Second-Team All-OVC forward Brendan Terry.
In his previous role as Director of Operations, Champagnie oversaw team budgets, coordinated travel plans for away games and supervised managers, while providing support to academic programs and other basketball areas.
He joined the SEMO staff after working five years as head boys basketball coach at Bishop DuBourg High School. There, he was in charge of all facets of the basketball program. Champagnie earned Boys Basketball Class 3, District 4 Coach of the Year honors.
Champagnie began his basketball career as a coach at Westminster Christian Academy. He spent four years (2012-16) in his first coaching position. Westminster made one Elite 8 appearance and was led by Aaron Cook who went on to play at Southern Illinois and Gonzaga.
He also spent time as a coach with the prestigious St. Louis Eagles/Bradley Beal Elite program on the Nike EYBL circuit.
Champagnie coached several players who moved on to play in the NBA, including Brandon Miller (No. 2 overall pick with Charlotte Hornets), Moses Moody (Golden State Warriros), EJ Lidell (Chicago Bulls), Nick Smith (Charlotte Hornets) and Yuri Collins (Santa Cruz Warriors).
He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Missouri Baptist in 2013.
