RAPID CITY, SD (gorockers.com) – South Dakota Mines has named Kyley Bachand as the new head coach of the women’s basketball team, rounding out the leadership lineup for the future of Hardrocker hoops.
Bachand’s appointment follows the announcement earlier this week of Michael Iseman as the head men’s basketball coach.
“We are thrilled to be adding Kyley to Hardrocker Athletics,” said Mines Athletics Director David Crum. “Her energy, positivity and ability to build authentic relationships will lift our program and department. Her thoughtful vision for player development and program culture is precisely what our team needs right now.”
Bachand comes to Mines from William Jewell College, where she spent the last two seasons as head coach, doubling the team’s overall wins and tripling the wins in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). She coached an All-GLVC performer who finished fourth in the league in scoring.
Prior to Jewell, Bachand was the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Colorado State University, where she helped lead the Rams to a 41-24 record. She recruited and helped mentor two Mountain West Conference Newcomers of the Year and the 2022 Player of the Year.
Bachand also helped lead teams at Southern Methodist University, Eastern Illinois University and the University of Sioux Falls, where she helped take the Cougars to a 22-8 record, second place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and recruited the third all-time leading scorer. Following that season, she was honored as one of the Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association (WBCA) Thirty Under 30, which recognizes up-and-coming coaches under the age of 30 at all levels.
“Kyley brings proven coaching experience at the Division I and Division II levels and a deep understanding of what it takes to achieve success,” Crum said. “She’s recruited top-tier student athletes throughout her career and knows how to find talent that fit a program’s culture.”
Alongside her coaching experience, Bachand has played a key role in fundraising thousands of dollars for basketball programs and spearheaded elite, team and youth camps. Bachand was also a standout player at both the University of Missouri and the University of Illinois. While playing for the Tigers, she made history as the first freshman in Missouri’s program to be named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.
“I’m incredibly excited and honored to be named the next head coach at South Dakota School of Mines,” Bachand said, “The institution’s standard of academic excellence, the strong, unified culture within the athletic department, and the remarkable people who make up this community make it a truly special place. I can’t wait to get started and build on the proud tradition of Hardrocker athletics.”
Bachand earned her bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Illinois in 2015 followed by a master’s in recreation, sport and tourism the following year.
Bachand’s first day will be Tuesday, April 22.