The Olney Central College Board of Trustees has approved Casey Wyllie as head men’s basketball coach. Wyllie, who served as interim head coach since mid-June, followed long time head coach Mike Burris who took an assistant coaching position at the University of Indianapolis.
Wyllie led Olney Central to a 14-7 overall record during the 2020-21 season. Olney Central finished 2nd in Region 24 and 2ndin the Great Rivers Athletic Conference. Olney Central also beat preseason #1 John A Logan twice and beat Vincennes when they were ranked #4. Olney Central finished ranked #24 in the final NJCAA Division 1 Poll and were ranked as high as #20 in the Week 6 Poll. Two Olney Central basketball players received All-Region or All-Conference recognition this past season under Wyllie’s leadership. Murray State signee Elijah Farr (6’8, Kansas City, MO) was named Region 24 Co-Player of the Year as well as All-Conference. Cobie Montgomery (6’5, Louisville, KY) was named All-Region 24 and All-Conference.
“To be named the head coach at Olney Central is an absolute honor. I am so thankful for the belief that Athletic Director Dennis Conley and President Rodney Ranes have in me. Olney is a special place that has an unbelievable amount of community support. We will continue to build on the foundation that was laid here before us by previous coaches and players.”
Wyllie served as an assistant at Olney Central during the 2019-20 season and helped the team reach a 24-7 overall record. Prior to Wyllie’s time at OCC, he served as the Director of Basketball Operations at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville from 2017-2019. While working at SIUE, Wyllie was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the program including weekly schedules, planning and coordinating team travel, academics, and budget management. Wyllie also acted as the team liaison for compliance which included maintaining and turning in phone logs to compliance, proactively identifying and resolving any walk-on eligibility issues, previewing official and unofficial compliance paperwork, and informing compliance of all coaches’ travel schedules. In addition, Wyllie coordinated, planned, and directed all SIUE summer basketball camps. During his time at SIUE, Wyllie was part of back-to-back OVC Conference Tournament appearances, which was the first time the Cougars had made the tournament since the 2014-2015 season.
Prior to SIUE, Wyllie had a brief coaching stop at Vincennes University in Vincennes, Indiana during June 2017. Before Vincennes, Wyllie served as a Graduate Assistant Coach at Louisiana Tech in Ruston, Louisiana from 2015-2017. He assisted the Director of Basketball Operations at Louisiana Tech with the day-to-day operations of the program including organizing recruiting efforts, travel arrangements, and summer basketball camps. He earned his master’s degree in Kinesiology with a concentration in Administration of Sport and Physical Activity from Louisiana Tech in November 2017. During his time at Louisiana Tech, the Bulldogs finished with a combined record of 46-20 while making back-to-back Conference USA Tournament appearances.
Wyllie earned his bachelor’s degree in Workforce Education from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 2015. During his time at SIU, Wyllie gained valuable coaching experience as the head freshmen boys’ basketball coach at Benton High School in Benton, Illinois. He finished with a combined record of 43-23, including a 21-0 record in his third season. Wyllie earned an associate’s degree from John A Logan College in 2012. During his time at John A Logan, he was the head junior varsity boys’ basketball coach at Elverado High School in Elkville, Illinois.
A native of Dwight, Illinois, Wyllie is a 2010 graduate of Dwight Township high School. During his senior year, Dwight finished with a 28-4 record and made a sectional finals appearance.
