UK women’s basketball hires Kentucky native, former WKU star as assistant coach
UK women’s basketball has officially named a new assistant coach — and the hire is a familiar face for Kentuckians.
On Friday, UK head coach Kyra Elzy announced the addition of assistant Crystal Kelly, the 2004 Miss Kentucky Basketball winner from Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville who went on to star at star at Western Kentucky University star.
“It is with great anticipation that we announce the hiring of Crystal Kelly,” Elzy said in the press release. “She is the total package. She takes great pride in being a product of Kentucky, and she understands the responsibility that it holds. Crystal was a talented in-state basketball player, which will benefit our program in numerous ways, but she also has had proven success in her coaching career. I have a lot of confidence in Crystal, and her contagious energy, competitive spirit and winning pedigree checks all the boxes for our program.”
Kelly, who served as the associate head coach at Towson for the past two seasons, has built her coaching career over the course of a decade. Prior to her hiring at Towson, where she helped lead the team to back-to-back 20-plus win seasons and consecutive WNIT appearances, Kelly had stops at Bellarmine (2012-16, 2020-21), Tennessee Tech (2016-17, 2019-20) and Xavier (2017-19).
“Returning to my home state to coach at the University of Kentucky is such a privilege and honor,” Kelly said in the press release. “Coaching alongside Coach Elzy, who has mentored me for many years, is truly a full-circle moment. As I step into this new role, I’m eager to build relationships with the student-athletes, collaborate with the staff and immerse myself in the unwavering passion of Big Blue Nation.”
Elzy first met the new assistant when Kelly was a high school star for Sacred Heart from 2001-04, where she and the Valkyries experienced tremendous success, including three consecutive KHSAA state championships from 2002-04. Kelly, whose jersey hangs in the Sacred Heart gym, earned accolades such as the 2004 Associated Press Player of the Year, as well as the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year in both 2003 and 2004.
Sacred Heart head basketball coach and athletics director Donna Moir, who coached Kelly during her time with the Valkyries and has maintained a friendship with Kelly as she built her own coaching career, said she thinks Elzy and Kelly will make a great team.
“She’s been a lot of places,” Moir said of Kelly. “And made a lot of connections and built a lot of relationships. And I think that’s going to be something that she can carry on through Kentucky. Kyra recruited her hard at Western. She could have gone anywhere in the country, honestly, anywhere. She chose Western Kentucky. Kyra was there, so I think they built a great relationship.”
Recruited by Elzy as a member of the Hilltoppers’ 2004 recruiting class, Kelly continued to stack accomplishments. From 2004-08, Kelly scored 2,803 points and grabbed 1,258 rebounds. She graduated as the 12th-leading scorer in NCAA Division I history, and her jersey was retired by WKU in 2008.
She was drafted in the third round of the 2008 WNBA Draft as the 31st overall pick to the Houston Comets. Following three seasons in the WNBA, Kelly played professionally in Brazil, Italy and Spain before beginning her coaching career.
Per UK Athletics, Kelly’s responsibilities will include working with the post players and overseeing recruiting.
Moir believes that, because of the mark Kelly has made on basketball in the state of Kentucky and her ability to build relationships, that she will be able to get in doors throughout the state.
“I think it’s just a win-win for everybody,” Moir said. “And I’m excited to see what she can do at Kentucky. Because we all know, recruiting in college basketball has drastically changed. It’s going to be who’s best at navigating all that is going to be the ones that are successful.”
Kelly fills the opening left by former assistant and player Amber Smith, who Indiana announced as a new assistant coach on June 13. Towson assistant Christie Rogers has been promoted to fill Kelly’s role for the Tigers, as well as inherited the interim role of head coach until Laura Harper returns from leave.
Kelly’s hiring by the Wildcats brings the program’s number of Miss Kentucky Basketball honorees to four, joining active players Maddie Scherr (2020), Brooklynn Miles (2021) and Amiya Jenkins (2022).
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