AUSTIN SPURS FINALIZE COACHING STAFF

Carson Shanks, Tristen Licon, Jackie Hua and Kevin Williamson Join Chris Kent’s Austin Staff

AUSTIN (Oct. 2, 2026) – The Austin Spurs today announced head coach Chris Kent’s staff, starting with Carson Shanks being named the team's associate head coach. The team also announced the promotion of Tristen Licon to player development and performance coordinator and added Jackie Hua as head athletic trainer and Kevin Williamson as strength and conditioning coach.

Prior to joining the Spurs, Shanks was part of the New York Knicks 2026 NBA championship coaching staff. He served as assistant director of video and analytics and player development for two seasons (2024-26) after beginning with the organization as assistant video coordinator in 2023. Before joining New York, Shanks spent the 2022-23 season as an assistant coach with the Wisconsin Herd after working as a player development and video assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2021-22 season. Shanks began his coaching career as an assistant men's basketball coach at the University of Minnesota Duluth from 2019-21 after holding a video coordinator role at the University of North Dakota during the 2018-19 season. Originally from Apple Valley, Minnesota, Shanks played professionally for Gzira Athleta in 2018 following a collegiate career split between Utah State, Loyola Chicago and North Dakota before beginning his coaching career.

Licon enters his second season with Austin after serving as a basketball operations assistant during the 2025-26 season. Prior to joining Austin, he spent three seasons at the University of Texas, serving as director of player development during the 2024-25 season after two years as a graduate assistant. Originally from El Paso, Texas, Licon played four seasons at Sul Ross State before spending his final season of eligibility at Texas in 2021-22 prior to beginning his coaching career.

Hua joins Austin as head athletic trainer after most recently serving as a sports medicine consultant for the San Antonio Spurs, where she assisted with medical and performance screenings for NBA Draft prospects. During the 2025-26 season, she served as lead medicine provider for Soccer Central in San Antonio and worked as an athletic trainer at the University of Texas at San Antonio while providing sports medicine coverage for USA Fencing. Hua earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in 2024 and her Master of Science in Athletic Training from the University of the Incarnate Word in 2026. Originally from Princeton, New Jersey, Hua competed on the Northwestern University fencing team from 2017-20.

Williamson joins Austin as strength and conditioning coach after previously serving as a sports performance coach at Texas Woman’s University from 2021-23. He has worked in sports performance through PWR Performance since 2019, and his previous experience includes a season as a performance assistant with the New York Knicks in 2017-18 and as a strength and conditioning assistant at Southern Methodist University in 2017. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Williamson played collegiate football at Morehead State, Mt. San Antonio College and Clemson University.