Carjay Lyles

Biography

Carjay Lyles was promoted to associate head coach in Aug. 2024, after being hired as an assistant coach on Aug. 9, 2019, to work with State’s horizontal jumps along with the sprints and hurdles. Lyles is a collegiate track and field coach with over 20 years of NCAA Division-1 coaching experience. He has won two NCAA Runner-Up Team Trophies and has twice been recognized by his national governing body, USTFCCCA, as regional coach of the year. Known for his coaching dexterity, Coach Carjay has built champions in all the sprinting, hurdling, jumps and combined events. His pupils have gone on to become Olympic Medalists, World Championship finalists, and developed into some of the best athletes in the history of their events. During the 2025 season, Lyles coached Peyton Bair to the national title in both the indoor heptathlon and outdoor decathlon. During his performance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Bair also set the NCAA record in the decathlon 100m and 400m, as well as running the fifth fastest 400m in a decathlon in world history. He also oversaw Nicholas Fakorede in the 60m and the men’s 4x400m to indoor first team All-American finishes at the 2025 championships. Jessicka Woods also finished fourth in the 400mh at the SEC Championships and earned second-team All-American honors at the outdoor championships in the same event. In the postseason, he oversaw Fakorede to the Nigerian bronze medal in the 100m. In 2024, Lyles coached Bair to a silver medal in the NCAA decathlon