Chad Killinger and Celeste Stewart have been named assistant women’s basketball coaches at ECU announced head coach Heather Macy on Tuesday. Killinger has spent the last seven seasons as head coach at Moberly (Mo.) Area Community College (MACC), while ECU letterwinner Stewart returns to her alma mater following a four-year stint as a part of the coaching staff at Wingate University.
Brittany Christian joins the coaching staff as video coordinator after three seasons as an assistant coach at Coker College, while Hayley Hollis has been promoted to director of basketball operations.
“We are confident in the team of coaches we’ve put together,” Macy said. “I believe everyone is fully committed to our vision and will do a great job complimenting one another’s strengths.”
Killinger was recently named the 2017-18 United States Marine Corps/WBCA Two-Year College National Coach-of-the-Year after leading MACC to a record 32 consecutive victories before suffering its only loss of the year in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NJCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament. Killinger was 2017-18 NJCAA District K, MCCAC and Region XVI Coach-of-the-Year following the Greyhounds’ historic season.
The Greyhounds won this year’s NJCAA Region XVI championship, their first under Killinger. He has amassed a 147-71 overall record during his time at MACC, with six top 3 finishes in NJCAA Region XVI and has helped 40 student-athletes move on to the four-year level.
Killinger, a graduate of Franklin (Ind.) College, spent one season as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Marshall (2010-11) before taking over at MACC. Prior to his time with the Thundering Herd, he was the head women’s basketball coach at Lincoln Trail College (2006-10) as well as Jacksonville (Texas) College (2003-06).
Stewart, a First-Team All-Conference USA player for the Pirates in 2009-10, returns to ECU after serving as an assistant coach at Wingate the last two seasons and graduate assistant the two previous years. She helped the Bulldogs win two South Atlantic Conference tournament titles and earn an invitation to the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament each season.
The Bulldogs finished ranked No. 19 in the final 2017-18 WBCA NCAA Division II poll and won 95 games during her four seasons on the WU bench.
Stewart was a four-year letterwinner for ECU, including three seasons under Macy. She was selected team MVP as a junior and senior and ended her career ranked among the program’s all-time top 10 in assists while helping the Pirates to a pair of WNIT appearances. She earned her bachelor’s degree in recreational therapy from ECU and completed her master’s degree in sports management at Wingate.
During her three seasons at Coker, Christian worked with all aspects of the program including recruiting, player development and scouting among others. She served as the head coach of the Carolina Quest AAU team, as well as assistant girls coach at Saint Stephen’s High School and head coach at the North Ridge Basketball Academy.
https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/6/5/trio-joins-ecu-womens-basketball-coaching-staff.aspx
Tagged with: DI Staff Update
