Courtney (Pate) Oates joined her alma mater as an Assistant Coach for the Baylor Acrobatics & Tumbling program in July of 2022.
The 2025 season saw the Bears go 12-0 and extended the undefeated meet streak to 50 to end the season. BU swept the DI end of season awards with Jordan Gruendler earning her third-consecutive Specialist of the Year title, Payton Washington being named Most Outstanding Athlete of the Year, and Leavy McDonald taking the Freshman crown. Those three along with Emily Bott were named NCATA All-America and Gruendler also was named to the All-Academic Team. The trio of Washington, McDonald and Gruendler swept the weekly awards three times this season as well. The Championships, taking place in Sioux Falls, S.D., saw BU defeat Limestone, Augustana and Oregon to earn the title before winning a school-record nine individual event titles. The Bears earned 12 perfect 10s on the season, including a record five 10s in one meet, coming against Oregon on Senior Day (4/5).
Baylor’s ninth-straight NCATA Championship title came in the 2024 season, the second championship for Oates. She and the staff led four student-athletes to All-American status (Riley Chimwala, Jordan Gruendler, Bayley Humphrey, Payton Washington) as well as the three who swept the DI end-of-season awards (Washington - Freshman, Chimwala - Most Outstanding, Gruendler - Specialist). Another undefeated season under her belt, the Bears used the 11-0 record to keep their 38-meet winning streak. BU was the only team to score a 280 or higher in a meet, and had nine weekly awards earned from the NCATA, one of which was a sweep. The Bears faced three new teams including Augustana, Iona, LIU and Texas Lutheran. Baylor recorded one perfect 10 score on the season, in the Open Pyramid against LIU (3/5). The Bears defeated Fairmont State (host), Oregon and Gannon en route to the title. Baylor earned seven individual event titles, one in each event - Five-Element Acro, Six-Element Acro, Seven-Element Acro, Inversion Pyramid, 450 Salto Toss, Six-Element Tumbling, Open Tumbling.
In her first season on staff in 2023, BU had a perfect 11-0 season, winning the championship and had a record five home meets in the Ferrell Center. Kamryn Kitchens earned four Athlete of the Week accolades en route to being named Most Outstanding Athlete of the Year, while Baylor captured six Specialist of the Week awards from the NCATA by Riley Chimwala, Jordan Gruendler and Bayley Humphrey; Gruendler being named Specialist of the Year. In addition, Gianna Cameron had one Freshman of the Week award and three honorable mention awards on her way to being named Freshman of the Year. Kitchens was also named to the All-Academic Team while 25 made the NCATA Honor Roll. Chimwala, Humphrey, Kitchens and Emily Tobin were all named NCATA All-America as well. In addition, Tobin and Grayson Moore earned the Big 12 Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award. Mulkey’s 80
th Baylor win came against Oregon on April 1 and the Bears recorded 11 perfect 10.0 scores on the season, the most coming in the Pyramid event. BU won five individual event titles in the Six-Element Acro, Seven-Element Acro, Synchronized Pyramid, 450 Salto Toss and the Open Tumbling Pass with Kitchens.
Oates comes to Baylor after spending three seasons in her hometown of Belton, serving as the head coach of the A&T program at UMHB.
“The sport of acrobatics & tumbling continues to impact my life in such large ways,” said Oates. “I’m incredibly grateful for the path it’s led me on. Baylor University has forever held a special place in my heart. I’m beyond honored to have the privilege to work with such a profound program of athletes and staff while being back on Baylor ground.”
Oates was hired by the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in February of 2019 to start and build the UMHB Acrobatics and Tumbling program. The Cru Acrobatics & Tumbling program began competition in the spring of 2020. UMHB hosted four-time defending National Champion Baylor University in its inaugural meet, and the Cru earned the program's first victory in its next meet at East Texas Baptist.
UMHB finished with a 1-1 record after that inaugural season was cut short and cancelled in March. Oates went on to guide the Cru to 3-3 records each of the last two seasons. They swept the NCATA’s Division III awards in 2022 and placed 23 student-athletes on the NCATA academic honor roll.
She has twice had the opportunity to start an Acrobatics and Tumbling program in her young coaching career. Before joining UMHB, she spent two years at West Virginia Wesleyan College as that school’s inaugural coach. Oates was hired in January of 2017 and spent a year recruiting to the program before guiding the Bobcats to a 4-4 record in their first season of competition in the spring of 2018. Oates also spent one semester as a volunteer assistant coach at Baylor University. She is a Belton native, and her father, Jerry Pate, served as an athletic trainer for UMHB and Baylor.
Oates is a 2016 graduate of Baylor University with a degree in studio art with a concentration in photography. She was a four-year letter winner for the Baylor Athletics and Tumbling program and won two Team National Championships with the Bears (2015, 2016). Oates also won three individual National Championships during her time at Baylor.
She was a three-time Academic All-Big 12 selection and was also named to the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team as a freshman. Oates was an eight-time Big 12 Commissioners Honor Roll and Dean’s List selection during her collegiate career. She is also a graduate of Belton High School, where she was a four-time All-American cheerleader and a Regional Qualifier as a pole vaulter.
Courtney (formerly Pate) and her husband, Gabe, were married in December of 2020. She is the daughter of Jerry and Vicki Pate. Her brother, Tyler, is a UMHB graduate and played soccer for the Cru. Her younger sister, Cassidy, is a graduate of Baylor.