LEXINGTON, Ky. ? Kentucky women’s basketball head coach Matthew Mitchell completed his coaching staff today with the hiring of Matt Insell, a former top AAU coach and Director of Basketball Operations at Louisiana Tech.
Along with recruiting duties, Insell also will be responsible for the guards.
“Matt has worked several years now to prepare for this opportunity,” Mitchell said. “He has developed a network of contacts across the country that makes him a very valuable asset to our recruiting efforts. He also has experience in developing and preparing players, coaching a number of players who have played at the highest level in collegiate basketball. It is clear to me that he has the desire, energy and enthusiasm to help Kentucky reach our goals of being the best in the country.”
Insell spent last season as the Director of Basketball Operations at Louisiana Tech under Coach Chris Long. Prior to the Lady Techsters, he was considered one of the top AAU coaches in the country, coaching the Tennessee Flight, a Nike Elite Travel Program, for three years. Insell made a national name for himself after coaching 41 of his former AAU players to play Division I basketball, including current Wildcat Victoria Dunlap. He also coached the Shelbyville Sports Shop 15 -Under team to the AAU National Championship title in 2004.
“I’m very happy to be at Kentucky,” Insell said. “What drew me here was Coach Mitchell’s passion to take this program to a national championship level year in, year out. His passion to succeed was a big selling point for me. The basketball tradition here means everything and when you think of Kentucky, you think of basketball. This is a special place.”
Insell, 25, earned valuable basketball experience while attending the University of Tennessee from 2001-2005. He worked closely with both the men’s and women’s basketball programs, serving as a student assistant/video coordinator under former men’s head coach Buzz Peterson and as an instructor at Pat Summitt’s summer basketball camps. The Shelbyville, Tenn., native transferred to Middle Tennessee State during the 2005-06 season where his father Rick Insell is the head women’s basketball coach. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in political science from MTSU in 2007.
