TUSCUMBIA – A win over region opponent Hatton a week ago put Deshler girls’ basketball head coach Jana Killen on top of the AHSAA career wins list with 920 victories. Killen and her Deshler team have since won two more games.
The milestone victory last week moved Killen ahead of the AHSAA’s boys’ all-time wins leader, the late Eugene Mason. The R.C. Hatch boys’ head coach compiled a 919-306 record with eight state championships, winning titles in Class 3A and Class 2A. The Hall of Fame coach served the school located in the Perry County city of Uniontown from 1968-2005.
Killen, who was inducted into the AHSAA Sports Hall of Fame in 2022, has a 922-229 overall record at Deshler, an AHSAA state record for most wins at one school, for boys or girls.
Under her two-sport guidance, Deshler has won seven state basketball titles and boasts an overall volleyball program record of 1,063-492.
Last year, Killen became the first coach in the AHSAA and in the National Federation of State High School Associations history to record 1,000 volleyball victories and 800 girls’ basketball victories, according to the two organizations’ record books.
The Deshler leader is one of only five high school coaches in the state to win more than 750 girls’ basketball games in the AHSAA. Ronald Jackson of T.R. Miller retired after last season with a 773-189 record and ranks second. Donnie Roberts retired at Red Bay after 2017 with an 886-361 overall record. Rounding out the top five are Spring Garden’s Ricky Austin (778-169) and Hazel Green’s Tim Miller (770-108).
Killen started at Deshler in the fall of 1989 as a teacher and head coach in volleyball, softball, and girls’ basketball. She also has coached tennis at Deshler.
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