Kyle Tolin has been selected as the new head men’s basketball head coach at the University of Arkansas at Monticello following a decade-long assistant coaching career at Oklahoma Baptist University.
Tolin, the 15th head coach in UAM men’s basketball history, comes to Monticello after helping Oklahoma Baptist reach 14 straight NAIA national tournaments during his 10 years as a coach and four years as a student-athlete. The 2010 Bison team won the NAIA national championship, while the 2002 and 2012 teams finished as national runners-up. During that 14-year span, the team’s record in the national tournament was 30-12. The 2010 national championship team finished with an overall record of 34-2.
"I am extremely excited and honored to become the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Arkansas at Monticello," said Tolin. "I want to thank Dr. Lassiter, Chris Ratcliff and the search committee for giving me this opportunity. My wife, Lisa, and I have been treated first class and everyone made us feel right at home. I look forward to getting started and adding to the success of UAM Basketball."
"We have found the perfect person to move our basketball program forward," said UAM Director of Athletics Chris Ratcliff. "Kyle embodies all the characteristics we want in our coach. He knows what it takes to win at the small college level… Many well respective peers called on his behalf. He is a family man and they are his priority. He follows the rules and his players will toe the line. Finally, he believes in the community. He oversaw many community service projects that left an impact. I know we have a winner in Kyle. It is an exciting time to be a Boll Weevil."
Also during his coaching career, Tolin helped OBU obtain the highest winning percentage of any four-year university in Oklahoma. The Bison pulled off three straight Sooner Athletic Conference championships from 2010-2012.
Tolin has coached and recruited two NAIA national players of the year, three Sooner Athletic Conference players of the year, six SAC defensive players of the year, 10 All-America honorees, 19 All-SAC selections and two academic All-America honorees.
As a student-athlete at Oklahoma Baptist, Tolin scored over 1,000 points during his four-year career and was a two-time All-SAC honorable mention. He played in every game during his career, and in addition to his scoring, averaged 4.3 assists per game overall. He was named OBU’s Senior Male Athlete of the Year in 2004.
Tolin’s father, Doug, has been the head coach at Oklahoma Baptist since 2000. Doug Tolin is a member of the Oklahoma Baptist Athletic Hall of Fame, the East Central Athletic Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Basketball Association Hall of Fame and the Norman High School Hall of Fame with over 700 wins to his credit.
Kyle Tolin, 33, graduated from Oklahoma Baptist in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in history education, and later obtained a master’s degree in sports administration from East Central University in 2006. He is married to the former Lisa Hansen. Kyle and Lisa have a five-year-old daughter, Macy, and a two-year-old son, Luke.
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