Hutchinson Community College Athletic Director Josh Gooch announced on Monday the hiring of Kyle Fisher to be the next head coach of the Blue Dragon men’s basketball program, pending board approval.
Fisher will become the 16th head coach the history of the NJCAA’s all-time winningest men’s basketball program. He will officially be introduced at a news conference at Noon on Wednesday, May 22 in the Hutchinson’s Sports Arena’s Multi-Purpose Room.
“Myself, my wife and our girls are beyond excited about getting to take over such as prestigious program like Hutchinson,” Fisher said. “I have always admired the program and I look forward to getting to work to keep the Blue Dragons at the top of the junior college world.”
Fisher is a veteran of the Jayhawk Conference coaching wars, first as an assistant at Coffeyville Community College and the last five seasons as the head men’s basketball coach at Butler Community College.
“We are excited to welcome Coach Kyle Fisher as the Blue Dragons’ next head basketball coach,” Gooch said. “Coach Fisher’s success in the NJCAA and KJCCC as an assistant coach and then as a head coach make him a great fit to lead the Blue Dragons.
“I look forward to welcoming his wife, Kathryn, and daughters, Grace and Rose, to the Hutchinson community and Blue Dragon Nation.”
Over his five seasons as head coach at Butler, Fisher’s teams posted an impressive 113-42 overall record.
Fisher’s 2022-23 team went 26-9 and finished fourth in the KJCCC, but had a late-season surge that carried the Grizzlies to a Region 6 Tournament title and all the way to the NJCAA National Tournament Quarterfinals. His first team in 2019-20 finished 25-8 with a second-place finish in the KJCCC and a Region 6 Tournament runner-up finish.
Except for the Covid-affected season in 2020-21, Fisher’s teams never won less than 23 games at Butler.
“The hard-nosed mentality and the grit my players have shown will always be a staple of my program,” Fisher said. “We are going to recruit really good players who are good people. They are going to play hard and play for each other.”
Before accepting the head coaching position at Butler, Fisher worked under Hall of Fame coach Jay Herkelman at Coffeyville.
Over his seven seasons with the Red Ravens, Fisher’s time in Coffeyville helped produce a record of 179-55 and four trips to the national tournament – including three straight national tournament appearances, along with a national semifinal finish in the 2018-19 season. Fisher was promoted to associate head coach with the Red Ravens before the 2017-18 season.
“With the experience and the success I have had in this league, that will put us in a good position to compete at a high level,” Fisher said. “The Jayhawk Conference is unlike any other league in the country. I look forward to the challenge of representing our program and the community the right way.”
Prior to Coffeyville, Fisher served as the top assistant at Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher, Arizona, for two seasons. Before Eastern Arizona, Fisher served two seasons as the top assistant at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa. Fisher’s first coaching position was serving as a graduate assistant for his alma mater, Washburn University in Topeka.
Fisher was a four-year member of Washburn’s basketball team where he played for Hall of Fame coach, Bob Chipman.
A native of Liberty, Mo., Fisher graduated from Liberty High in 2003. Fisher holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Washburn University and an M.S. in Sports Administration from the University of Central Missouri.
https://www.bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/releases/20240513p8j5y4
