ROCKPORT — Kyle Magill believes this opportunity was the ideal spot to begin his head coaching career.
Magill was named the South Spencer High School boys basketball coach on Monday, May 11 during the South Spencer School Corp. board meeting. He arrives after spending over a decade across the Ohio River on staff in the Owensboro High School boys program.
One of the top scorers in program history is returning home.
“It’s always nice to come home,” Magill said. “I grew up just down the road. I came to games when I was little. I played here. It’s always nice to come home and coach the kids in this community.”
Magill is already synonymous with South Spencer basketball to many of a certain age. The 2003 graduate remains fourth in program history with 1,609 career points. He started his coaching career with the Rebels a few years later as the freshman coach.
Magill spent the past 12 years in Owensboro, starting with the middle school program, before moving up as a varsity assistant for four seasons. That stretch also included two years as the junior varsity coach. The Red Devils were 49-60 with Magill on the varsity staff, highlighted by a Sweet Sixteen apperance in 2023. The pull of home still proved to be a major positive with family and friends remaining in Spencer County.
Owensboro and South Spencer never played with Magill as a varsity assistant. He still admits to scoreboard watching when he could to keep tabs on his alma mater. This will be his first head coaching position.
“I’ve been coaching a long time,” he said. “They reached out. I talked to my family and wife. We thought it was a good time to start building my program. I’m looking forward to getting started and getting to work. Put the staff together and meet the kids.”
South Spencer finished 9-15 last season under third-year coach Aaron Thompson, who stepped down in March because of family obligations. The Rebels, who haven’t secured a winning record since 2023, lost in the Class 2A sectional semifinal and graduate five of its top six scorers.
The program only has two sectional championships since the turn of the century (2016, 2020). Magill remembers growing up when South Spencer was a consistent contender in March. It’s now his job to build up the Rebels into a Pocket Athletic Conference and postseason challenger once again.
“I want to bring it back to what it was when I was growing up,” he said. “For a while, we were winning sectionals and regionals every year. I remember as a kid how fun it was to come to Rebel games. I want to bring that back to Reo.”
Kyle Sokeland is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland or email at kyle.sokeland@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Kyle Magill named South Spencer High School boys basketball coach
Reporting by Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
