Samantha LaFon, a former Mountaineer women's basketball student-athlete and recent graduate, began her position as Student-Athlete Development Coordinator in June 2025. 

In this crucial role, LaFon will focus on programming that will support App State student-athletes athletically, academically and with their post-college career endeavors.

LaFon brings valuable leadership experience from her time as a student-athlete. For two years, she served as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). She also held the position of vice chair for the Sun Belt Conference SAAC, where she helped create and promote initiatives, acted as the primary point of contact for NCAA opportunities and surveys and planned conference meetings.

Additionally, LaFon was the 2025-26 Sun Belt representative for the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Student-Athlete Engagement Group. In this role, she advocated for the conference and provided feedback on matters related to women's basketball.

LaFon appeared in 39 games across two seasons with the Mountaineers after competing the first three years of her career at Marshall.

A native of Chesapeake, Ohio, LaFon now resides in Boone, where she enjoys yoga, cooking, reading and spending time with her family.