Bio

Kevin Gill took over the Highlanders’ basketball program in 2002 and has experienced great success since taking the helm. In his 21 seasons at McLennan, the Highlanders have claimed nine North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference titles (outright championships in 2006, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022, and a co-championship in 2007) and have secured a regional tournament berth every year, including seven trips to the semifinal round. In 2016, the Highlanders stepped it up, securing an at-large bid to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas. This marked the program’s first trip to the tournament since 1998, but that wasn’t enough for Gill and the Highlander squad. MCC defeated Marion Military Institute in the opening round, marking the program’s first national tournament victory.

Under Gill’s guidance, the Highlanders are 511-142, for a 78-percent winning percentage. Gill collected his 400th career victory as a head coach in 2012, his 500th win in 2016, his 600th win in 2019 and his 650th in 2022. His accomplishments garnered Gill conference Coach of the Year honors in 2006, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2022, and Co-Coach of the Year honors in 2007. He has seen 90 players named all-conference, five players earn NJCAA All-American honors, seven NJCAA All-Academic Team honorees, and Aundre Jackson named to the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship All-Tournament Team in 2016. In 2014, Gill was named the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Junior College Coach of the Year, after leading the Highlanders to a 28-3 record, and his continued success earned him The Frank Fallon Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce Sportsman of the Year award in 2019.

Gill came to McLennan from Waco’s La Vega High School. In three years at his alma mater, Gill led the Pirates to a 92-11 record and a state championship for the first time in the school’s history. He is a member of the 2019 Inaugural Class of the La Vega Hall of Fame.

Before La Vega, Gill was the head coach at Hubbard High School where he helped the Jaguars advance to the state playoffs for the first time in 10 years with a 25-7 record. In his three years at Hubbard, he compiled a record of 75-22.

As a head coach at the high school and college level, Gill boasts an overall record of 678-175.

Gill began his coaching career in 1993 at Lake Air Middle School in Waco and was an assistant at La Vega for two years before moving to Hubbard.

Gill graduated from Paul Quinn College in 1990. In 1998, he earned his master’s degree from Prairie View A&M University. Gill and his wife Suzette, a teacher and coach at La Vega High School, are the parents of two daughters, Chelsi and Kobi, and have one grandson, Royal.

Coaching experience
2002-present: Head coach, McLennan Community College
1999-2002: Head coach, La Vega High School
1996-99: Head coach, Hubbard High School
1994-96: Assistant coach, La Vega High School
1993-94: Head coach, Lake Air Middle School

Education
1998: Master’s in education, Prairie View A&M University
1990: Bachelor’s in social work, Paul Quinn College