Steve Thomas, the field events coach at the University of Florida, was named the University of Kentucky?s assistant track coach, head coach Don Weber announced. Thomas will be in charge of field events for the Wildcats.
?We feel very fortunate Steve Thomas is joining our track staff,? UK head coach Don Weber said.
Thomas comes to Kentucky after seven seasons in Gainesville. Bringing solid collegiate coaching experience to Kentucky?s track and field program, Thomas enters his 21st year coaching at the university level.
Thomas began his tenure at Florida in 1998, while in Gainesville he coached nine All-Americans, six Southeastern Conference champions and a pair of NCAA East Region champions. In his career, he’s tutored individuals who have won nearly 40 conference championship titles, including a total closing in on 20 in the SEC alone.
?Coach Kenneson was a very accomplished coach with great experience and Coach Thomas has an equally impressive history,? Weber said. ?He is very familiar with the SEC having coached at both Florida and Mississippi State, in addition to his head coaching experience at South Alabama.?
Prior to coaching at Florida, Thomas had 16 years of Division I coaching experience under his belt, including four years at fellow SEC member Mississippi State. As head coach of both the men and women’s cross country and track and field programs at South Alabama from 1992 to 1998, he received four Sun Belt Conference Coach-of-the-Year Awards during his six-year term with the Jaguars. Charged with the complete reinstitution of the track & field program when he was hired by USA, Thomas brought the women’s squad to a school-best second place finish at the 1994 Sun Belt Indoor Championships and fourth-place bests in four of his six years at the outdoor meet. He expanded and developed nearly every facet of the Jaguar program, producing 20 Sun Belt Conference Champions and the first NCAA qualifier in the history of the South Alabama.
A native of Saraland, Ala., Thomas was the head field events coach at Mississippi State from 1988 to 1992, where he trained two All-Americans and six All-SEC athletes. All together those six earned 11 individual conference titles under his direction.
?Coach Thomas is extremely knowledgeable in all the jumps and throws, and has tremendous international experience and recruiting connections, having conducted clinics all over the world,? Weber said. ?He is a great teacher of the technical skills needed in the field events and a tremendous motivator with unsurpassed commitment to coaching. We are thrilled to have Steve join our staff.?
Thomas is known on the international stage for his instruction skills, conducting clinics in Australia, Belgium, England, Germany, Mexico and Switzerland, as well as a two-week clinic in China in 1994.
An All-district distance runner at Oklahoma Christian College, Thomas graduated from there in 1981 before earning his master’s degree in education from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1983.
He is married to the former Kim Eades. They have a daughter Kayleigh Lauren.
