Eagle Alum Leatherwood Joins Coaching Staff at Division III Hampden-Sydney

Former Carson-Newman men’s basketball guard/point center Kevin Leatherwood (Charlottesville, Va.) will continue his hoops career by joining Dee Vick’s coaching staff as an assistant coach at Hampden-Sydney in Hampden-Sydney, Va.

Leatherwood becomes the fourth men’s hoops graduate in the last two years to stay in basketball after graduation.  He joins Collin Crane – the basketball strength coach at Missouri State, Antoine Davis – who has signed a pro contract with the Sechtem Toros in Germany, and Ray Likely – now an assistant at Carson-Newman. 

“Kevin was a valuable part in helping us establish a really good foundation for the men’s basketball program,” C-N head men’s basketball coach Chuck Benson said. “His leadership was invaluable and to now see him going into the coaching profession makes me very happy.  Obviously, he’ll do a great job at Hampden-Sydney.”

Leatherwood averaged 3.1 points and 1.8 rebounds for the Eagles in his senior year.  Leatherwood scored 349 points over his C-N career as a crucial reserve who helped C-N reach the NCAA tourney for the first time in a decade in his senior season.

“It’s something that I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid,” Leatherwood said of joining the coaching profession. “Being able to do this and have this opportunity is exciting.  There’s something special about three of us (in his graduating class) having jobs in the profession this soon.  It speaks volumes for us as people and where coach Benson has this program going.”

The Charlottesville, Va.-native indicated that Benson’s coaching style helped lead him to the profession.

“Benson always let us have input in what we’d like to do offensively and defensively, whether it was during the game or during scouting,” Leatherwood said. “That influenced a lot of the steps I’ve taken down this career path.  I talked to (Chuck) before I accepted the job and it proved to be a big part in me taking the job and him being a large part of my four years at C-N.”

The 2014 Hampden-Sydney Tigers finished the year on an impressive run through the ODAC Tournament. Having to play in four games to win the ODAC Championship, the Tigers nearly pulled it off as the #8 seed. H-SC beat #9 seed Roanoke College 104-82 in the First Round, took down #1 seed Randolph-Macon 68-55 in the Quarterfinals, and demolished #5 seed Eastern Mennonite 104-80 in the semifinals to reach the title game where the Tigers narrowly lost 77-74.

H-SC became the first team in ODAC Tournament history to score 100 or more points in two tournament games. Hampden-Sydney finished the season 16-13 behind the toughest strength of schedule in the NCAA South Region. Additionally, Hampden-Sydney knocked off Mary Washington (66-63) and Springfield (89-82 OT), two NCAA Tournament teams, while winning the South Region Classic and the Holiday Classic.

The Tigers are just a stone’s throw from where Leatherwood grew up, but he’s just thankful to be in the profession.  The proximity to his family is just an added bonus. 

“It’s always good to be closer to family and your support system,” Leatherwood said. “I could have gotten a job in Kansas and I would have taken it. But I’m thankful for the Hampden-Sydney family for giving me the opportunity to get my foot in the door and being closer to home.”