Kiley Hill named Ouachita Baptist Women’s Basketball Coach

Bringing with him three decades of coaching experience at the NCAA Division I and II levels, Kiley Hill has been selected as the head coach for the Ouachita Baptist University women’s basketball program. Hill has been a head coach at the collegiate level for 22 years of his 30-year career, including the last five at D1 Western Carolina. In the three years prior to taking over the WCU program, he was the associate head coach at D1 Southern Miss. His most notable tenure was 16 years as the head coach at Valdosta State (2000-16) in Georgia, where he led the Blazers to 14 postseason appearances and six NCAA Division II tournaments, highlighted by a pair of Sweet 16 teams (2008 and 2012). Overall at VSU, Hill posted a 279-177 record for a.612 winning percentage. He was named the Gulf South Conference Eastern Division Coach of the Year twice and was also named the GSC-East Coach of the Decade. In 2012, he was named the WBCA South Region Coach of the Year. Hill and his wife, Molly, are coming home to the Natural State. Kiley is from Hot Springs and is an alumnus of Arkansas Tech, where he lettered four years in baseball and then began his coaching career as an assistant with the women’s basketball team under current Little Rock head coach and Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame member Joe Foley. Molly (Longing) is from Russellville. “Molly and I are excited to be coming home to Arkansas and join the Ouachita family,” said Hill. “We want to provide our deepest gratitude to President Ben Sells and Athletic Director David Sharp for believing in us to lead a program within a broader framework of the mission of the university. We are thrilled to rekindle long-standing relationships and foster new ones, and meet the expectations of the proud alumni of Ouachita.” “To say I’m thrilled to have Coach Hill coming to Ouachita is definitely an understatement,” said Ouachita Director of Athletics David Sharp. “His experience and success coaching women’s basketball, especially at D2, brings a confidence that will take us to the next level. His exceptional character, knowledge of the game, and ability to recruit and develop high-quality student-athletes are traits that will provide a spark to this program, the university, and the community.” In 17 years as a D2 head coach, including his first top spot at West Alabama for one year (1999-2000), Hill has led his respective teams to 13 winning seasons and six seasons with at least 20 wins. His overall coaching record, including the last five years at Western Carolina, is 327-299. He earned his 300th win in 2020 with the Catamounts. At WCU, nine different players earned Southern Conference postseason honors under Hill’s leadership. During Hill’s time in Valdosta, he coached three All-America honorees, two GSC All-Decade Team selections, two GSC Top 10 honorees, and 22 all-conference players. Off the court, his teams produced 28 academic all-conference selections. The Blazers were twice selected to the WBCA Academic Honor Roll with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. As associate head coach at Southern Miss (2016-19), Hill helped the Golden Eagles compile a record of 56-40, including a run to the Conference USA championship game and a berth to the WNIT in 2016-17 with a final record of 23-11 as well as a trip to the second round of the WBI tournament in 2018-19. Hill was on the bench at West Alabama from 1996-2000, the last year as head coach, leading the Tigers to a 15-11 season at the turn of the century. For the three years prior, he was assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, and helped orchestrate the program’s first 20-win season in more than 15 years. He coached four all-conference performers and six academic all-conference selections. Hill graduated from Arkansas Tech in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and then earned a master’s degree in continuing education from West Alabama in 1997. The Hills have two adult children, Whitley and Skyler.
Courtesy of: obutigers.com