EMORY, Va. - The Emory & Henry College Department of Athletics is pleased to announce the hiring of several assistants across the department since the start of the academic year.
Men's & Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
Troy Taylor comes to E&H from University of North Texas after two years as Assistant Cross Country/Track & Field coach. A 2016 graduate and member of the Mean Green's Cross Country/Track & Field team, Troy earned multiple All-Conference USA and NCAA South Central All-Region honors. He became the first in school history to qualify for the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships run in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Adam Lallande is entering his first year as an Assistant Track and Field Coach at Emory & Henry College, serving as the team's Throws coach. A former football player at Virginia Military Institute and a 1993 graduate of Radford University, Lallande makes the move to the college level after 28 years of coaching many different sports at various high schools in Southwest Virginia.
Women's Basketball
Sydney McKinney ('20) joins the staff as an assistant coach after completing a successful four-year career on the court for the Wasps. A three-time All-ODAC selection, McKinney finished her career with 1,210 points, 656 rebounds, 225 assists, 157 steals and 86 blocks.
Football
Cody Bowman ('16) returns to Emory & Henry after spending the 2019 season as the Offensive Line and Tight Ends coach at Cincinnati Christian University. After completing his collegiate career as an offensive lineman, Bowman transitioned into quality control for the Wasps before coaching at North Davidson High School in Welcome, North Carolina.
Kyre Hawkins comes to Emory & Henry as the defensive line coach after a stint at Alderson Broaddus University. Hawkins started for four years at James Madison University as inside/outside linebacker and was named to the All-Colonial Athletic Association First Team his senior year. After graduating in 2017, he took on roles as a graduate assistant under head coach Mike Houston with JMU and at East Carolina University.
Mitchell Walters ('20) will assume the duties of defensive quality control for the spring's football season. Walters played four years for the Wasps as linebacker and was All-ODAC Academic in all four seasons.
Men's Soccer
Justin Gilfert joins the men's soccer team as assistant coach after stints at Martin Methodist College and Pfeiffer University. A 2016 graduate of Hilbert College, Gilfert has experience coaching soccer for men's and women's teams at the club, colligate, and semi-professional level.
Softball
Taylor Wright comes to Emory & Henry after spending the 2020 season as Assistant Coach at Calhoun Community College in Decatur, Alabama. A 2019 graduate of East Tennessee State University, she was a two-time All-Southern Conference Tournament selection and was selected to the All-SoCon Team her senior season.
Men's & Women's Swimming
Matt Brinton brings five years of coaching experience ranging from summer leagues, YMCA teams and nationally-ranked USA Club teams. Brinton graduated from Towson University in 2017 and competed as part of the Tigers' men's swimming team.
Men's & Women's Wrestling
Kayla Bartosch joins the E&H staff after a three-year career at Cordova High School in Tennessee, helping lead nine wrestlers to the state meet. A 2014 graduate of King (Tenn.) University, she was three-time All-American in Women's Wrestling and attended the 2012 Junior Pan-Am Games Champion in Guatemala.
Strength & Conditioning
Jared Carter ('17) returns to Emory & Henry after strength & conditioning stints at Purdue University and Shorter University. A former two-year letterman in both football and men's tennis for the Wasps, he most recently was Director of Strength & Conditioning for FC Barça Residency USA and previously worked with the Chinese Olympic cycling teams.
Administration
Peyton Brooks joins the athletic department as Assistant Director of Athletics for Student-Athlete Success. Brooks, a 2019 graduate of Furman University, most recently worked as a Production Assistant for VFL Films/SEC Network at the University of Tennessee.
Ty Spires ('20) joins the staff as Assistant Director of Athletic Communications after spending three years as an intern in the Mass Communications Department and Department of Athletics. He was a four-year letterwinner in the outfield for the Emory & Henry baseball team.
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