Holy Names Director of Athletics Phillip Billeci-Gard announced that Head Women’s Basketball Coach Dave Covell has been named the head coach of the Hawks men’s basketball program. 

“After heavy consideration, I found Dave Covell to be the perfect fit to lead our men’s basketball program,” said Billeci-Gard. “He is an alumni and cares deeply about the institution. Dave will be an excellent leader to build upon our established men’s basketball foundation.”

A Sebastopol, California, native, Covell brings 17 years of coaching experience to Holy Names Men’s Basketball. He has coached the women’s basketball team at Holy Names for the past eight seasons. Before HNU, Covell spent nine seasons as the head women’s coach at California Maritime Academy in Vallejo, California. Prior to HNU’s move into the NCAA DII Pacific West Conference, the Hawks competed against Cal Maritime in the NAIA California Pacific Conference. Covell led his team to the Cal Pac Conference playoffs in consecutive years. 

“I’m extremely excited for this opportunity. I had a very tough decision to make that weighed heavily on me as we have a great group of players coming back. I’m just very thankful to Phil for the opportunity and believing in me,” Covell said. “Coach Eberhardt set this team up for success with a great returning class and talented recruits. I hope to fall in his footsteps with the energy and what he brought to the table.”

Coach Covell was very successful at Cal Maritime. Over his nine years of coaching at the NAIA level, he mentored over 15 All-Conference players, two NAIA All-Americans and was named Cal Pac Conference Coach of the Year in 2009-10. Covell has taken his team to the finals and semi-finals in the Cal Pac Conference Tournament in five seasons. Prior to Cal Maritime, Covell served as Assistant Coach at Porterville College in Porterville, California. 

Covell earned his B.A. in Liberal Arts from Holy Names College in 2002 and his M.A. in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation from Saint Mary’s College of California in 2006. While at HNU, he was a member of the men’s basketball team helping the Hawks to two national tournament appearances. 

Covell stated, “I’m excited about being able to coach at my alma mater and for the team that I once played for. When I played here, we played at a championship level and went to the NAIA national tournament. My goal is to bring this team to that same level within the PacWest Conference.”

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