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Winningest California high school girls basketball coach rejoins Troy High School

Lawrence Andrew Fernandezby:Lawrence Fernandez•03/24/25•

lawandfern

California high school girls basketball

A California high school girls basketball program re-hired a familiar name to revive their winning ways. Kevin Kiernan is once again at the helm of the Troy High School girls basketball team, 18 years after he last coached the team. Troy’s coaching history goes full circle as Kiernan replaces Roger Anderson, who replaced him in 2007.  

In a press release shared by Troy Athletics, Kiernan coached the Warriors from 1996 to 2007. During that run, Kiernan guided the team to multiple state championships and established the squad as a California powerhouse.

After coaching Troy, Kiernan transferred to Mater Dei, which he turned into a California high school girls basketball powerhouse. Under his guidance, the Monarchs won 27 league, 12 CIF, six state, and two national championships.

These results earned Kiernan some individual recognition throughout his nearly four-decade coaching career. He won the 2006 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s National Coach of the Year and the 2010 USA Today National Coach of the Year awards.

The National High School Coaches Association also named him their Coach of the Year in 2012. Eight years later, Kiernan was the John Wooden Coach of the Year. After winning several in-state awards, he became a California high school girls basketball legend.

The California Coaches Association named him their Coach of the Year in 2015. A year later, he received the Champions of Character Award from the California Interscholastic Federation. Kiernan also won back-to-back CIF Open Division Coach of the Year awards in 2020 and 2021. In 2024, the OC Register hailed him as their Coach of the Year.

Kiernan’s 1,069 wins are the most in California high school girls basketball history. Starting July 1, he will now oversee a program that finished the 2024-25 season with a 12-17 record. Troy’s last winning record came in the 2021-22 season when they finished 16-11. Since then, the Warriors went 33-50 under Anderson.