Kayla Ard
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Utah State |
| Conference | Mountain West |
| Record | 15–39 (.278) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | February 10, 1984 Hammond, Louisiana |
| Playing career | |
| 2003–2004 | Chipola |
| 2004–2006 | Southeastern Louisiana |
| Position(s) | Guard/forward |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2005–2006 | Hammond HS |
| 2010–2012 | Pensacola State (asst.) |
| 2012–2013 | Troy (asst.) |
| 2013–2015 | Clemson (asst.) |
| 2015–2017 | Dayton (asst.) |
| 2017–2020 | Denver (asst.) |
| 2020–present | Utah State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 15–39 (.278) |
Kayla Laine Ard (born February 10, 1984)[1] is an American college basketball coach who is currently women's basketball head coach at Utah State.
Early life and education
Born in Hammond, Louisiana, Ard grew up in nearby Loranger and graduated from Loranger High School in 2002.[2][3] She played basketball for one season at Chipola College, then transferred to Southeastern Louisiana University, where she played three games in the 2004–05 season, averaging 3.0 points per game.[4][5] She graduated from Southeastern Louisiana in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in general studies, and later earned a master's degree in psychology from the University of Phoenix in 2013.[4]
Coaching career
Ard started her coaching career as assistant coach of the AAU Domino's Basketball program in New Orleans, Louisiana from 2003 to 2005, followed by one season as a coach at Hammond High School (2005-06 season), and head coach of the Hammond Tornadoes AAU organization in 2007.[2] After coaching at Hammond, Ard was cast in the lead role of a Gatorade commercial, which aired from 2008 to 2009.[6]
Ard was then a recruiter and assistant coach at Pensacola State College in Florida during the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons, then spent a year at Troy University, working under Chanda Rigby.[7][6] From 2013 to 2015, Ard was an assistant coach at Clemson University, then served as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Dayton from 2015 to 2017.[7] While at Dayton, Ard coached a coached a team that was top 20 in the nation in 2015.[8]
From 2017 to 2020, she was the associate head coach, recruiting coordinator, and offensive coordinator at the University of Denver, including 11 games in the 2019 season as the interim head coach which produced a six-game winning streak that was the school's longest in eight years.[8]
On March 23, 2020, it was announced that she had been hired as the head coach for the Utah State University's basketball program.[7] In an interesting turn of events, 10 players from her team entered the transfer portal following the 2021–22 season, leaving the team with only 2 returners (both reserves).
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–21 | Utah State | 4–20 | 2–16 | 10th | |||||
| 2021–22 | Utah State | 11–19 | 5–13 | 9th | |||||
| Utah State: | 15–39 (.278) | 7–29 (.194) | |||||||
| Total: | 15–39 (.278) | ||||||||
References
- ^ @USUWBasketball (10 February 2021). "Happy birthday to our fearless leader and head coach, @Kayla_Ard‼️🎉🎂🎈#AggiesAllTheWay" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Troy University Athletics Roster - Kayla Ard
- ^ "Women's basketball: Southeastern inks former Loranger star Ard for 2004-05". Southeastern Louisiana University. November 18, 2003. Archived from the original on December 13, 2003. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
- ^ a b "Ard named USU's head women's hoops coach". The Herald Journal. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
- ^ "2004-05 Southland Women's Basketball - Southeastern la".
- ^ a b Troy Women's Basketball adds coaches, WSFA13 News, June 5, 2012.
- ^ a b c Kayla Ard Named Utah State Head Women's Basketball Coach, Utah State University, March 23, 2020
- ^ a b University of Denver Athletics Roster
- 1984 births
- Living people
- American women's basketball coaches
- Chipola Indians women's basketball players
- Denver Pioneers women's basketball coaches
- Southeastern Louisiana Lions basketball players
- Sportspeople from Hammond, Louisiana
- University of Phoenix alumni
- Utah State Aggies coaches
- Junior college women's basketball coaches in the United States
- High school basketball coaches in Louisiana
- Basketball coaches from Louisiana
- Basketball players from Louisiana
- Dayton Flyers women's basketball coaches
- Clemson Tigers women's basketball coaches
- Utah State Aggies women's basketball