Recently named Lincoln Memorial University Men’s Basketball Head Coach Jeremiah Samarrippas has tabbed Tyler Kelly as the program’s newest assistant coach, the athletic department announced Monday evening. A NCAA Division II national champion as a player, Kelly brings six years of collegiate coaching experience to Harrogate, including spending three seasons at the Division I level.
“I’m very excited to add Tyler to our staff, he brings a ton of experience as a coach at both the Division I and Division II levels,” remarked coach Samarrippas. “TK has been a winner at every stop of his basketball career. It’s not often you can add a coach on staff that has a won a national championship. He’s familiar with the expectations and standards of playing and working for an elite Division II program. He’ll be an outstanding recruiter and has deep ties in the state of Ohio, which has been immensely important in our recruiting efforts the past few seasons. TK is also great with player development and will serve as a coach our players can relate to because of his playing experience at Florida Southern. Railsplitter nation should be excited to welcome Tyler Kelly into our program.”
A standout on the hardwood at Florida Southern College, Kelly has parlayed his on-court ability into a successful coaching career. After winning a national title with the Moccasins, Kelly spent one season on Florida Southern’s staff before serving as director of player development at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay for three seasons. For the past two years, Kelly has been an assistant coach for the Le Moyne College men’s basketball program in Syracuse, New York.
“I am thankful to coach Champion, the Le Moyne players and athletic department for everything these last two years and allowing me to play a part in helping move that program forward,” spoke Kelly. “Having said that, I am humbled and excited to have this opportunity to work to continue the winning tradition of LMU basketball. I look forward to working with coach Samarrippas and helping him make his mark on the program, this time as a head coach. I’m ready to get to work, build relationships with the players and community, and compete for championships!”
The top assistant under head coach Nate Champion, Kelly helped lead the Dolphins of Le Moyne to a Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division regular season title in 2019-20. In charge of player development and assisting with practice plans, scouting, recruiting and travel, Kelly helped guide the Dolphins to the top seed in the 2020 NE10 Tournament and a fourth-straight Division II East Regional Championship berth before the COVID-19 global pandemic shut everything down. Under Kelly’s tutelage, a pair of Le Moyne players garnered All-NE10 accolades and the Dolphins went 19-9 with a 15-4 conference mark. Due to the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, the Le Moyne men’s basketball team did not compete during the 2020-21 season.
Prior to his time in New York, Kelly was responsible for player management and program operations at Division I Green Bay in the Horizon League from 2016-19. In his role, Kelly assisted with setting up on-campus recruiting and coordinating both official and unofficial visits with recruits. During his three seasons in Wisconsin, Kelly was involved with 52 victories and helped mentor four student-athletes to All-Horizon League honors, including first-team selection Sandy Cohen III. In Kelly’s final year with the Phoenix in 2018-19, Green Bay reached 21 wins and was the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) runner-up.
A native of Pickerington, Ohio, Kelly served as an assistant coach at his alma mater during the 2015-16 season. While working with his former teammates, two Florida Southern senior guards were named All-Sunshine State Conference with Dylan Travis claiming All-American accolades.
The starting point guard on the Mocs’ 2015 national championship squad, Kelly was a four-year letter winner at Florida Southern. He helped lead the Mocs to four consecutive 20-win campaigns, including a school-record 36 games during Florida Southern’s historic 2014-15 national title run, four-straight Division II Championship appearances, two Elite Eight trips in 2013 and 2015, four SSC Tournament championships and three SSC regular season titles. Kelly was a part of 109 Florida Southern victories and closed out his Moccasin career fourth in school history in assists (498). Tied for second in program history in games played with his former teammate, two-time All-American guard Kevin Capers, Kelly started 120 of the 131 games he competed in. Kelly finished with 982 career points, 402 rebounds and 132 steals while shooting 38 percent from the field and 34 percent from three-point range.
Kelly earned his Bachelor of Science in business administration and management from Florida Southern in 2015. He was a frequent member of the SSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll during his undergraduate career.
Tyler’s sister, Tianni Kelly, is the head women’s basketball coach at fellow Division II member University of Charleston in Charleston, West Virginia.
Lincoln Memorial names Kelly as Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach
