On Friday, Lindenwood women's basketball head coach Phil Sayers announced a pair of additions to his inaugural staff. Sam Wall and Hailey Diestelkamp will be joining as assistant coaches

Wall comes to Lindenwood after spending the last two seasons as a graduate assistant at Colorado State University.

"Our team is going to love having Coach Wall as a part of our staff," said Sayers. "She is an eager, hungry, humble young coach who has a servant heart. Her attention to player development will assist our team as we strive to improve on a daily basis. What stood out with Sam was her desire to be a part of the future of Lindenwood Women's Basketball. I missed on Sam during the recruiting process but was not going to make that same mistake while hiring a staff."

During her time with the Rams, CSU recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons and made an NCAA Tournament appearance this past season.

Prior to arriving in Fort Collins, Wall played four seasons of college basketball at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minn. As a senior, Wall averaged 13.4 points per game to earn all-conference second team honors. In the process, the senior guard broke her own record for three-pointers made in a season with 91. The sharp shooter also tied the school record for triples in a single game, sinking seven shots from beyond the arc in a 21-point effort against Minot State.

A career 1,000-point scorer with the Mustangs, Wall also excelled in the classroom, earning academic all-conference honors in each of her four years. The Delhi, Iowa, native graduated in 2024 with her bachelor's in physical education.

Diestelkamp is no stranger to the Ohio Valley Conference having spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Southern Indiana.

"I am thrilled to welcome Coach D into our program," said Sayers. "She was an excellent player who was a winner! She is a connector and relationship builder. Having local knowledge of Missouri will only help us in recruiting. Our players will love having her as one of their coaches. She fits our philosophy of having GREAT PEOPLE, who are GREAT TEAMMATES who love to WIN! I am thankful to have her join our team at Lindenwood"

During her time in Evansville, Diestelkamp helped lead the Screaming Eagles to consecutive 20-win seasons, multiple appearances in the OVC tournament, reaching at least the semifinal round in each, and consecutive appearances in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). In 2024-25, USI reached the WNIT Super Sixteen for the first time. She has helped coach four All-OVC selections.

Before coming to USI, Diestelkamp served as the Director of Basketball Operations for Missouri State University Women's Basketball for two seasons under head coach Beth Cunningham.

Prior to Missouri State, Diestelkamp served as a graduate assistant for the Saint Louis University Billikens. While at SLU, Diestelkamp assisted with game-day preparation, player development, setting up community service activities, and coordinating postgame and travel meals.

Before entering the coaching realm, Diestelkamp had a decorated playing career at Drury University in Springfield, Mo. In her career at Drury, the Lady Panthers posted a 128-8 record, and her jersey was retired after she ended her career as the team's all-time leading scorer (2,321) and rebounder (1,101).

Diestelkamp was a two-time NCAA Division II Player of the Year, a two-time First Team All-American, a two-time GLVC Player of the Year, and was named the GLVC Freshman of the Year in 2016-17.

The Owensville, Mo., native averaged 21.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.8 steals, while shooting .522 from the field for an undefeated (32-0) Great Lakes Valley Conference champion team as a senior in 2019-20. Drury finished its season as the number one team in NCAA Division II.

Diestelkamp was inducted into Drury's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2026.

Diestelkamp graduated from Drury with her bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Criminology in 2020, and graduated from SLU with a master's in Student Personnel Administration in May 2022.