Track & Field
Lear, Bailey
Bailey Lear
- Title:
- Assistant Coach Sprints and Hurdles | Operations Coordinator
- Email:
- blear@sports.uga.edu
Bailey Lear was named an assistant coach for sprints and hurdles by Georgia Director of Track and Field Caryl Smith Gilbert in October 2023, working with assistant coach Karim Abdel Wahab in the 400-meter dash, 400m hurdles and the relays. She also serves as the program’s operations coordinator.
Lear arrived in Athens following an All-American track career at the University of Southern California, where she competed as a sprinter from 2019-2023. She spent her first three seasons under the guidance of Smith Gilbert, USC’s Director of Track and Field from 2014-2021, and helped the Trojans bring home a national title during the 2021 outdoor season. Lear also helped guide Southern California to Pac-12 titles in 2019 and 2021.
During her time as a Trojan, Lear set the program’s freshman indoor record in the 400m while also posting the No. 4 in school history in the indoor 400m. She also clocked the No. 6 time in school history in the outdoor 400m and ran the leadoff leg on USC’s 4x400m relay, which had the second, ninth and 10th-fastest outdoor times in program history. Lear was a two-time All-American in 2019, running on the 4x400m relay teams that placed sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships and eighth at the NCAA Outdoor Championship meet.
A native of New Orleans, La., Lear graduated from Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in Communication in 2021. Lear also earned two master’s degrees at USC, completing programs in Entrepreneurship & Innovation in 2022 and in Digital Media Management in 2023. She was the founding member of the university’s United Black Student-Athletes Association and served as the group’s Co-Communication Chair.
In 2024, the Bulldog sprinters who Lear helped with made 22 improvements to Georgia’s all-time top-10 lists, including five school records, and earned First Team All-America honors in five events with a pair of individual national championships. Sophomore sensation Christopher Morales Williams also won two Southeastern Conference crowns and established a collegiate record and a world all-time best in the 400m.
Morales Williams ran an all-time world-best 400m time of 44.49 to win the 2024 SEC indoor title, creating fresh Canadian, collegiate, school and meet records in his wake. Two weeks later, he had the No. 5 all-time collegiate performance (44.67) to collect the national championship in the event. Outdoors, Lear helped Abdel Wahab manage his budding superstar to another SEC/NCAA sweep. Morales Williams blistered a 44.05 to win the league’s outdoor title with a Canadian, meet and school record finish that was the world leader at the time and made him the No. 6 all-time collegiate performer. Georgia’s coaching staff then guided Morales Williams to the school’s first NCAA outdoor 400m title with a 44.47, marking his fifth sub-45 second 400m of the year. First-year Bulldog Hossam Hatib clocked the No. 3 time in the Georgia record books (45.12) and set a Moroccan national record with a 46.02 indoors.
On the women’s side, fellow sophomore Aaliyah Butler set the outdoor 400m school record with a 49.79 to take fourth at the SEC Championships to become the No. 9 all-time collegiate performer. Lear and Abdel Wahab started their year with Butler indoors as she clocked UGA’s third-fastest time in school history (51.19) prior to taking fourth at the NCAA meet. In addition, three other of 400m sprinters – Kimberly Harris (52.25), Haley Tate (53.03) and Sydney Harris (53.71) – earned a spot on the school’s all-time top-10 lists indoors. Outdoors, Kimberly Harris ran UGA’s fourth-best time in history (51.23) at SECs to make the final and qualified for the NCAA Championships.
A seasoned All-American in the relays herself during her collegiate days, Lear’s work with Georgia’s relay teams paid of immediate dividends as well. The Harris sisters, Butler and Tate combined for memorable performances both indoors and outdoors, starting with a school record of 3:28.01 (No. 9 all-time collegiate performance) at the Razorback Invitational and taking sixth at both the SEC and NCAA Indoor Championships. Outdoors, the foursome posted the No. 8 all-time collegiate performance and school record of 3:24.26 to take fourth at the NCAA Championships. The Lady Bulldog quartet that also took fourth at SECs had five times under 3:30 in 2024 outdoors.
The hurdlers also showed massive improvements to take over the No. 2 and No. 3 spots in the Lady Bulldog record books. Dominique Mustin capped her final year by earning SEC runner-up honors in the 400m hurdles with the second-fastest time in school history (55.60, fastest time for UGA since 1996) and qualified for the NCAA Championships. Teammate and training partner Zoe Pollock went 56.39 (No. 3 in school history) to also punch her ticket to Nationals.
Lear arrived in Athens following an All-American track career at the University of Southern California, where she competed as a sprinter from 2019-2023. She spent her first three seasons under the guidance of Smith Gilbert, USC’s Director of Track and Field from 2014-2021, and helped the Trojans bring home a national title during the 2021 outdoor season. Lear also helped guide Southern California to Pac-12 titles in 2019 and 2021.
During her time as a Trojan, Lear set the program’s freshman indoor record in the 400m while also posting the No. 4 in school history in the indoor 400m. She also clocked the No. 6 time in school history in the outdoor 400m and ran the leadoff leg on USC’s 4x400m relay, which had the second, ninth and 10th-fastest outdoor times in program history. Lear was a two-time All-American in 2019, running on the 4x400m relay teams that placed sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships and eighth at the NCAA Outdoor Championship meet.
A native of New Orleans, La., Lear graduated from Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in Communication in 2021. Lear also earned two master’s degrees at USC, completing programs in Entrepreneurship & Innovation in 2022 and in Digital Media Management in 2023. She was the founding member of the university’s United Black Student-Athletes Association and served as the group’s Co-Communication Chair.
In 2024, the Bulldog sprinters who Lear helped with made 22 improvements to Georgia’s all-time top-10 lists, including five school records, and earned First Team All-America honors in five events with a pair of individual national championships. Sophomore sensation Christopher Morales Williams also won two Southeastern Conference crowns and established a collegiate record and a world all-time best in the 400m.
Morales Williams ran an all-time world-best 400m time of 44.49 to win the 2024 SEC indoor title, creating fresh Canadian, collegiate, school and meet records in his wake. Two weeks later, he had the No. 5 all-time collegiate performance (44.67) to collect the national championship in the event. Outdoors, Lear helped Abdel Wahab manage his budding superstar to another SEC/NCAA sweep. Morales Williams blistered a 44.05 to win the league’s outdoor title with a Canadian, meet and school record finish that was the world leader at the time and made him the No. 6 all-time collegiate performer. Georgia’s coaching staff then guided Morales Williams to the school’s first NCAA outdoor 400m title with a 44.47, marking his fifth sub-45 second 400m of the year. First-year Bulldog Hossam Hatib clocked the No. 3 time in the Georgia record books (45.12) and set a Moroccan national record with a 46.02 indoors.
On the women’s side, fellow sophomore Aaliyah Butler set the outdoor 400m school record with a 49.79 to take fourth at the SEC Championships to become the No. 9 all-time collegiate performer. Lear and Abdel Wahab started their year with Butler indoors as she clocked UGA’s third-fastest time in school history (51.19) prior to taking fourth at the NCAA meet. In addition, three other of 400m sprinters – Kimberly Harris (52.25), Haley Tate (53.03) and Sydney Harris (53.71) – earned a spot on the school’s all-time top-10 lists indoors. Outdoors, Kimberly Harris ran UGA’s fourth-best time in history (51.23) at SECs to make the final and qualified for the NCAA Championships.
A seasoned All-American in the relays herself during her collegiate days, Lear’s work with Georgia’s relay teams paid of immediate dividends as well. The Harris sisters, Butler and Tate combined for memorable performances both indoors and outdoors, starting with a school record of 3:28.01 (No. 9 all-time collegiate performance) at the Razorback Invitational and taking sixth at both the SEC and NCAA Indoor Championships. Outdoors, the foursome posted the No. 8 all-time collegiate performance and school record of 3:24.26 to take fourth at the NCAA Championships. The Lady Bulldog quartet that also took fourth at SECs had five times under 3:30 in 2024 outdoors.
The hurdlers also showed massive improvements to take over the No. 2 and No. 3 spots in the Lady Bulldog record books. Dominique Mustin capped her final year by earning SEC runner-up honors in the 400m hurdles with the second-fastest time in school history (55.60, fastest time for UGA since 1996) and qualified for the NCAA Championships. Teammate and training partner Zoe Pollock went 56.39 (No. 3 in school history) to also punch her ticket to Nationals.
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