Piedmont Announces New Coaches

With the new school year on the horizon, Piedmont Academy has officially announced the addition of two coaches to its staff.

Christian Palmer will be the new varsity boys basketball coach and Aubry Payne, who will help with football and other sports.

Palmer is a graduate of Stratford Academy in Macon where he was a multi-sport athlete in football, basketball and track. He also played basketball at Georgia Southwestern State University and Oglethorpe University. He completed his degree at Georgia College & State University.

Palmer previously worked as an assistant football and basketball coach at Brentwood in Sandersville contributing to a state championship in football and a Final Four appearance in basketball.

He holds a B.S. in Middle Grades Education.

“We feel fortunate to be able to get Christian,” Athletic Director Danny Camp said. “Several other schools were interested in him. We believe we have a great young coach who is going to help take our boys basketball program to a higher level.”

Payne grew up in McDonough and attended Locust Grove Middle School and High School. He played football at Western Carolina from 2016-2017 before transferring to Georgia State University where he walked on the football team and quickly earned a scholarship in 15 days.

During his time at GSU, Payne earned two All-Sunbelt selections and helped the Panthers to two bowl wins. After graduating in 2021 with a degree in Sociology, he became an offensive assistant at East Tennessee State University.

He is married to Malory-Anne Payne, an attorney who graduated from Mercer University Law School. They are expecting their first child, Emilia Anna Payne, in October.

Piedmont head football coach Clint Satterfield said he is excited to have Payne helped with the Cougar football program.

“Aubry is also a great young coach who we feel will be an asset to our school and students,” added Camp.