Jody Stewart

Biography

Jody Stewart joined the UNC staff in October of 2021 and serves as an assistant coach, focusing on coaching and developing the Tar Heel sprinters and hurdlers. He brought an extensive résumé to Chapel Hill after most recently serving as Director of Track & Field/Cross Country at Texas State. In his inaugural season at Carolina, Stewart coached Anna Keefer to second-team All-America honors in the women’s 200 meters during the indoor season. Keefer broke three school sprint records during the 2022 season (100m: 11.23; 200m indoors: 23.34; 200m outdoors: 22.83). Also in 2022, Isaiah Palmer won his first Atlantic Coast Conference indoor title in the men’s 400m. Ten all-time top-10 finishes were achieved in sprint events during the 2022 indoor and outdoor seasons. More recently, Stewart has coached Craig Saddler II to two consecutive 400m Hurdles ACC Outdoor titles in 2023 and 2024. Saddler also achieved second-team All-America finishes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in both years. As Director of Track & Field/Cross Country at Texas State prior to coming to UNC, Stewart's teams accumulated eight conference titles and achieved the university's first Triple Crown, winning conference titles in women's cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field in 2017-18. Stewart earned eight Conference Coach of the Year accolades and his teams tied for the most league titles under one head coach in program history. In six seasons, under Stewart’s direction the program accumulat