Former Christian Brothers University player and coach Shane Keely joins the Cumberland staff as a full-time assistant coach for the 2017 season.

Over the past two season at Cumberland, the Men’s Soccer program has achieved Mid-South Conference Regular Season Champions and Tournament champions. Keely primarily coachs the goalkeepers and assisted Bennett Strutz on achieving First Team All Mid-South Conference in both 2017 and 2018 as well as MSC Defensive Player of the Year in 2018.

In the summer, Keely is an assistant coach for the USL League 2 Reading United in Reading, Pa. In 2018, the Reading United club went undefeated in the regular season on their way to USL League 2 Mid-Atlantic Conference Champions, Eastern Conference Champions, and National Champions Runner-Up. This past summer the team won the USL League 2 Mid-Atlantic Conference Championship for the second year in a row.

Keely served the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Christian Brothers, organizing travel, recruiting international as well as local players for the program while managing and delegating scholarships. He designed and implemented practice plans and organized and maintained team videos and analysis technology.

As a player the Dublin, Ireland, native posted three goals and one assist as a senior at CBU in 18 matches in 2014, including a pair of game-winning goals. The Bucs finished that season 14-3-1 overall, reaching the NCAA South Regional.

He spent two seasons at the University of Memphis, seeing action in 12 matches with 10 starts and registering one assist in 2012. He recorded four goals and four assists in 18 outings with nine starts in 2013, including three game-winning goals.

Keely holds a USSF D License, U18 Division 1 coach with NUSA and a U16 Division 2 girls with NUSA licences.

Keely earned his bachelor’s in Professional Studies with disciplines in Sports Management and Health Promotion from Memphis in 2014. He received a certificate in Project Management from Christian Brothers in 2014 and a master’s in Business Administration from CBU in May 2017.

Christian Kiesel began his first year as an Assistant Athletic Trainer in the Athletic Training program in August 2020. Kiesel oversees athlete care, injury prevention, evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation for men’s basketball, men’s soccer, and men’s and women’s bowling.

Kiesel spent the past two years as a graduate assistant at SUNY Cortland providing primary team coverage to both the men’s ice hockey and women’s field hockey programs. He also spent time providing split coverage for the Cortland baseball program. 

Prior to his graduate assistant position, Kiesel gained experience through several clinical rotations at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio. He helped provide care for several of the university’s athletic teams as well as local high schools. While at Heidelberg, Kiesel also worked as a Finish Line First Responder at the Akron Half-Marathon and the Chicago Marathon.

Kiesel played soccer at Heidelberg from 2014-2017 as a forward. He saw his most action his senior season starting three games and seeing action in 16 of the team’s 17 games. Kiesel was a member of the 2014 team that won the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament championship. He earned Academic All Ohio honors in 2016, Academic All-OAC in 2016-17, Landess Award winner in 2015, 2017-18, and on the Dean’s List each of the four years.

Kiesel earned his Bachelor of Science, Athletic Training with minors in History and Wellness from Heidelberg University in May 2018. From there he went to SUNY Cortland as a Graduate Assistant for Athletic Training where he received his Master of Science, Exercise Science degree

Hollis is a graduate of the University of Pikeville and a four-year member of the Bears program from 2010-2014. During her collegiate bowling career, she was a part of the Bears 2012 NAIA National Championship team as well as 2013 and 2014 Xbowling National Collegiate Team Championship Runner-Up 2013.

Hollis earned First-Team NAIA All-American honors, National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association Honorable Mention All-American, and First-Team Mid-South Conference in 2014.

After graduating, Hollis began her coaching career as a Graduate Assitant for the Women’s Bowling program at Pikeville from 2014-2016. She assisted with recruiting, practice plans, and statistical entries for tournaments. After Pikeville, she went to Union College assisting their men’s team to a Mid-South Conference Runner-Up, was an assistant coach at Life University in Marietta, Georgia, and most recently an assistant coach here at CU since August 2020.

“I am excited that Christina will be our Interim Head Men’s and Women’s Bowling Coach. She brings a wealth of experience to help build strong programs. Christina has already been a volunteer for the program so she knows the players and the Cumberland University culture|” Director of Athletics Ron Pavan said. 

Hollis graduated from the University of Pikeville with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a minor in Business in 2014 and a Masters in Business Administration in 2016.

Ryan Hunt begins his first season as the head baseball coach at Cumberland after spending the last six seasons as the head coach at Vol State Community College.

Hunt compiled a 110-100 record entering the 2021 campaign which he is currently 124-110. Prior to Vol State, Hunt was a longtime assistant coach under Woody Hunt from 2002-2015.

Cumberland has won four Tran South Conference and one Mid-South Conference regular-season championships and six Tran South Conference and one Mid-South Conference Tournament title during his tenure as an assistant. The Bulldogs have also claimed five regional championships, four super regional titles and played in six NAIA World Series, winning national championships in 2004, 2010, and 2014. CU was also the NAIA World Series runner-up in 2006 and finished fourth in the nation in 2005.

Hunt has coached 20 NAIA All-Americans and 22 players who signed professional contracts during the previous 12 campaigns.

During his five years at Cumberland as a player, the Bulldogs claimed five conference championships, four conference tournament titles, and two regional championships, advancing to the NAIA World Series in 1997 and 1998.

Hunt graduated from Cumberland with a bachelor’s in Physical Education in 2003 and earned a master’s in Education in 2007.

The Lebanon, Tenn., native was a four-year starter at second base at Lebanon High School from 1993-96, earning All-District honors as a sophomore and senior and All-Midstate Honorable Mention as a sophomore.

He is married to the former Melissa Lauper of Gallatin, Tenn., and the couple has two daughters – eight-year-old Rylee and three-year-old Lyla Noelle.

James Hicks begins his fifth season as head coach at Cumberland in 2019-20 after serving three years in the same capacity at Darton State College in Albany, Ga.

Hicks led the Phoenix to the Mid-South Conference Tournament championship in his first year at the helm of the program, tying for the team title for the program’s first-ever MSC title. For his efforts he was voted Mid-South Conference West Division Coach of the Year. Sammy Rosario, Nate Croley, Orlando Nawade, Kyle Delaune and Dustin Harris all earned Second Team All-Mid-South honors and Croley went on to garner All-America accolades at 157.

In addition eight student-athletes were named Academic All-Mid-South Conference and Peter Donchev and Nick Paden were recognized as NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

Last season two athletes recieved All-America honors – Anothony Maia and Nathan Walton. Maia reached the national tournament semifianls and Walton reached the seventh pplace event.

In 2016-17, three student-athletes earned All-America honors for the Phoenix – Rosario, Croley and Delaune – tying for the most All-Americans in a single season in program history. Croley was voted Second Team All-Mid-South while nine athletes were named Academic All-Mid-South and Matt Carroll, Evan Cole and Peter Donchev were reconized as NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

Hicks produced two national champions and six junior college All-Americans during his three seasons at Darton State. The Belle Glade, Fla., native was named Region III Eastern District II Coach of the Year in each of the last two seasons for the Cavaliers and the team won the Eastern District II Championship in both campaigns as well.

Twenty-two wrestlers qualified for the NJCAA national tournament over his three years, including nine in 2015 and eight in 2014. The team finished in the Top 25 at the national tourney all three seasons, including 14th in 2015 and 17th in 2014. Darton State also placed third each of his last two years in the non-scholarship division of the NJCAA National Championships. In addition, five wrestlers garnered Academic All-America honors under Hicks’ tutelage.

Hicks served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Campbellsville University, for four years, with the Tigers placing in the Top 7 at the NAIA Championship in three of those campaigns. Campbellsville won the East Region Qualifier in his final season as an assistant in 2012 and finished in the Top 5 at the NWCA National Duals in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The Tigers also won the Mid-South Conference regular season title in each of his last three years with the program.

During his time as an assistant coach, Campbellsville produced a pair of national champions, 19 NAIA All-Americans, 47 national qualifiers, 10 East Region champions, 17 Mid-South Conference champions and seven NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

Hicks was a three-time NAIA national qualifier and a Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete during his wrestling career at Campbellsville as well as a three-year starter for the Tigers. He was a member of the 2006 NAIA National Championship club at Dana College in Blair, Neb., ranking as high as sixth nationally and receiving the team’s Freshman of the Year award. He placed fourth as a senior at the FHSAA State Championships for Glades Central High School.

Hicks received his bachelor’s in Physical Education from Campbellsville in 2009.