Payce Lange will enter her fifth season on the NJIT women’s basketball coaching staff in 2026-27, having joined the program in June 2022 following a successful early coaching career that included a national championship and collegiate playing accolades at the Division I and III levels.
During the 2025-26 season, NJIT advanced to the second round of the WNIT for the first time ever and earned the program’s first postseason victory with a win at Merrimack on March 19. The Highlanders made their first postseason appearance in the Division I era and second overall (2004-05 ECAC Tournament), while setting a new program record with 19 overall victories, surpassing the previous mark of 18 set in 2004-05. NJIT also established a program-best 10 road wins, tied the school record with nine America East Conference victories, and posted nine non-conference wins — the most in the Division I era.
Lange came to NJIT after a standout season at D’Youville in Buffalo, New York, where she served as interim head coach during the 2021-22 season and guided the program to its first-ever National Title in the USCAA Division I Championship. That season followed a 15-12 campaign in D’Youville’s first year of NCAA Division II competition, during which she coached three All-American student-athletes in Sara Pfeiffer, Anna Jankovic, and Stella Mollica.
She began her collegiate coaching career in 2020-21 as a graduate assistant at D’Youville, where she assisted with practice planning, player development, and game management responsibilities.
A four-year standout at Kean University from 2017-20, Lange concluded her playing career as one of the program’s most decorated athletes. In her senior season, she earned D3hoops.com All-American honors, was named NJAC Player of the Year, and received D3hoops Atlantic Region Player of the Year recognition.
Lange finished her collegiate career ranked 33rd nationally in Division III in scoring at 19.2 points per game, while also averaging 6.7 rebounds and 2.58 steals per game. She reached 1,221 career points, becoming the 20th player in Kean history to surpass the 1,000-point milestone.
In addition to her on-court success, Lange was a 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-District First-Team selection. She earned her bachelor’s degree in exercise science with a minor in business marketing from Kean University, graduating magna cum laude in May 2020, and completed her Master of Business Administration at D’Youville University in May 2022.
Updated May 2026
