Updated July 2016
Twitter: @CoachEasley
Kevin Easley came to the Scenic City in June 2016 as an assistant coach on Matt McCall’s staff. While he is new to Chattanooga, he knows Tennessee and the Southern Conference quite well.
He is a native of Trenton, Tenn., home to UTC’s DI-era rebounding leader Nicchaeus Doaks (2006-09). Easley played collegiately at Austin Peay and coached three seasons in the league as an assistant to Mike Dement at UNCG.
Most recently, Kevin was director of basketball operations at UNC Wilmington for the last three campaigns, the final two under Kevin Keats. The Seahawks captured the 2015-16 CAA title and played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005-06.
Easley brings a strong background in recruiting and player development. He aided in the development of 2007 SoCon Player of the Year Kyle Hines, who was named the 2016 EuroLeague Best Defender. His time at UNCA led to the addition of 2014 Big South Freshman of the Year Andrew Rousey. Most recently, during the coaching change at UNCW prior to Keats’ arrival, Easley was responsible for discovering walk-on Chris Flemmings who became a first team All-CAA performer and 2016 CAA Tournament MVP.
He was a four-year letter winner at Austin Peay from 1998-2001. In 1998-99, he was voted the team’s Most Improved Player and also appeared in 21 games in 2000-01 when APSU went 22-10.
When APSU assistant Bret Campbell became the head coach at UT Martin, Easley signed on as an assistant coach in 2004-05. The Skyhawks made a seven-win improvement in Easley’s first season at UTM. That led to his time in the SoCon with the Spartans.
Easley moved from UNCG to High Point for two seasons on Scott Cherry’s staff. He transitioned to Team Loaded, an AAU program, coaching the U16 team to a 40-7 record and No. 10 ranking in Five-Star Basketball’s final poll. From there, he spent two years as an assistant at UNC Asheville before going to Wilmington.
A high school star at Peabody High School in Trenton, Easley was a finalist for Tennessee's Class A “Mr. Basketball” in 1996-97 after sparking his team to a 26-1 record in his senior season. He earned his B.S. Degree in Mass Communications from Austin Peay in 2002 and completed his M.S. in Education from UT Martin in 2006.
He is married to the former Erin Wren and the couple has two children, Sebastian and Peyton. Easley is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
