Sacramento State

Kyle Lillie was hired as the throws coach at Sacramento State in November 2018.

“We hit a home run with the hiring of Kyle,” Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Kenny McDaniel said. “He brings experience from being coached by USTFCCA National Coach of the Year David Dumble who has produced numerous All-Americans in the throwing events. Kyle is a student of the throwing events, and a developer of throwers. He’s committed to training that will make our throwers better while paying close attention to the small details.”

At Sacramento State

2021 Season

• Evan Stork was the Big Sky champion in the hammer and advanced to the NCAA West Preliminary.
• Stork set the school record on his final attempt at the Big Sky meet with a distance of 212-10.
• Freshman John Maka also placed his name among the top 10 in program history with a discus throw of 167-05 to rank eighth.
• Shantel Nnaji set the school record in the hammer with a best of 185-00.
• The indoor season was canceled due to COVID-19.

2020 Season

• Morgan Jones was the Big Sky champion in the weight throw at the conference indoor championships.
• Jones set the school record in the weight throw with a distance of 66-07.25. She also moved into 10th in the Hornet record book with an indoor shot put of 45-09.25.
• Shantel Nnaji had a shot put of 47-11.75 which ranked fifth all-time at Sacramento State and her weight throw of 58-02.00 placed her seventh.
• Rhaven Dean cracked the top 10 with a weight throw of 57-02.00 to place her ninth.
• Evan Stork placed third in the weight throw to earn all-Big Sky honors. His mark of 61-09.00 placed him sixth in school history.
• The outdoor season was canceled due to COVID-19.

2019 Season

• Helped guide the Hornet women to Big Sky Indoor and Outdoor team titles.
• Morgan Jones earned all-Big Sky honors after placing second in the weight throw at the indoor championships.
• Jelaia Jones and Shantel Nnaji each won outdoor individual titles in the shot put and discus, respectively.
• Nnaji's discus throw of 163-11 was the third-best in school history.
• Jelaia Jones moved into third place in school indoor history in the shot put (49-06.50) and fourth in the weight throw (59-10.50).
• Kyle Peterson earned all-Big Sky honors in the hammer after placing second. Peterson also qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary.
• Peterson ranked sixth in school history in the hammer (196-03) and ninth in the shot put (54-10.25).
• The women set four school top 10 marks during the outdoor season led by Jelaia Jones who had a shot put of 49-11.25 to rank third and a hammer throw of 177-00 to place her seventh.
• Morgan Jones moved into a tie for fifth all-time at Sacramento State with a shot put of 47-09.25.

Prior to Sacramento State

Mesa Community College

• Coached six NJCAA All-Americans and 10 NJCAA national qualifiers.

Husson University (2015)

• Began coaching at Husson University in Bangor, Maine in 2015.
• During his first season with the Eagles, Lillie coached a thrower to third place at the DIII New England Championships, a ninth-place finish at the NEICAAA Championships (all New England schools Div. I-III) and competed at the prestigious ECAC Championships.

Athletic Accomplishments

• Lillie competed at Arizona State from 2013-15 where he qualified for the NCAA Div. I Outdoor Championships in the hammer and scored for the Sun Devils at the Pac-12 Championships.
• Left ASU ranked seventh in school history in the weight throw (61-08.00), fourth in the hammer (210-02) and was 10th in the indoor shot put. He placed fifth at the Pac-12 Outdoor Championships in 2015 with a personal best of 61-02.25.
• As a student-athlete at Glendale Community College, Lillie was a two-time NJCAA All-American in the shot put after winning the outdoor title and placing second indoors in 2012. He also qualified for the NJCAA National Championships in the hammer and discus.
• Lillie graduated from Valley Vista HS in Arizona in 2010. As a senior, he was the Northwest Regional champion in the shot put and discus and placed second in the shot put at the Arizona State Championships. He still holds the Valley Vista school record in the shot put and discus.

Personal

• Lillie graduated from Arizona State’s College of Public Service and Community Solutions with a degree in criminal justice/criminology in 2015.
• Has competed as a post-collegiate athlete in the hammer throw.

What Others are Saying

David Dumble, Oregon State Associate Head Coach (formerly at Arizona State)
“It was a pleasure coaching Kyle because of his energy and passion for throwing. All his hard work paid off during his time at ASU, and he developed himself to compete at the highest level in the NCAA. He was a very coachable athlete and a student of the sport.

“His positive energy will be a huge plus as he develops some great throwers at Sacramento State. I am very excited about this opportunity for Kyle, and I can’t wait to see what he can do with the throwing program.”