Matt Kingsley, who will begin his ninth season as a member of James Jones’ staff in 2013-14, has been promoted to Associate Head Coach.
During Kingsley’s tenure, the Bulldogs have a .562 winning percentage in Ivy League games, have finished in the top three in the final standings four times and participated in the 2012 CollegeInsider.com post season tournament.
"Matt has had a strong voice in our program for many years and has been an important part of our success," said Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Men’s Basketball at Yale. "No one works harder or is more dedicated to their job. It is only fitting that he be elevated to Associate Head Coach. No one is more deserving."
Kingsley works primarily with the guards. A number of his pupils have had great success. Eric Flato ’08 graduated second all-time at Yale in three-point field goals made (213) and 13th in school history in scoring (1,193 points). Alex Zampier ’10 is Yale’s all-time leader with 167 career steals and is in the top 10 in career free throw percentage (4th, .816) and career three-pointers (8th, 135). Zampier was drafted by the New Mexico Thunderbirds in the 2010 NBA Development League. Reggie Willhite ’12 is the school’s single-season steals leader and was the 2012 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, and Austin Morgan ’13 graduated as Yale’s all-time leader in free throw percentage (.859), and is third all-time with 199 career three-pointers.
"I can’t express enough gratitude to Coach Jones for this opportunity and the faith he has in me," Kingsley said. "My experience at Yale has been truly remarkable for both me and my family. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with the special group of young men that we have on our team."
The future looks bright for the Bulldogs. Yale, which went 7-3 in its final 10 games last year and swept the season series from both Penn and Princeton for the first time in school history, returns six of its top seven scorers from a year ago. The Bulldogs won 14 games overall and finished third (8-6) in the Ivy League with a roster made up predominantly of freshmen and sophomores.
Prior to coming to Yale, Kingsley was the associate head coach at Eastern Connecticut. During his tenure at Eastern, Kingsley helped the team improve from 7-19 in 2003 to 14-12 in 2004, including a school record eight conference wins. At Eastern, Kingsley worked under head coach Bill Geitner, who has guided the Warriors to a Little East Conference Championship and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.
Prior to serving at Eastern Connecticut, Kingsley was a post graduate men’s basketball coach at Saint Thomas More School in Oakdale, Conn., where he worked for legendary head coach Jere Quinn. In 2001, he helped coach the team to a 31-3 record and the New England Prep School Class A Championship. He also spent one season as an assistant coach at Clarkson University where the team had the second most wins in school history and earned the first post-season berth in school history.
Kingsley is a 1998 graduate of Wesleyan University where he was a standout for the basketball team. His 191 three-pointers still ranks first all time in school history and his 1,176 points was second all-time when he graduated and currently stands fourth all time. He also served as a team captain.
A New Haven native, Kingsley attended Notre Dame-West Haven High School, the same school that produced two-time first team All-Ivy standout Greg Mangano, who graduated Yale in 2012. At Notre Dame, Kingsley played for legendary head coach Gary Palladino, who won more than 500 games in his career before retiring in 2013.
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