Cincinnati Country Day School announces the hiring of Jim Collins as head football coach and Kiana Allen as head girls basketball coach.
Jim Collins brings more than 35 years of collegiate coaching experience to CCDS. During his career, he has been named coach of the year five times and has led his teams to six NCAA playoff appearances, three conference championships, and five national rankings.
Collins began his head coaching career at the University of Dubuque, where he increased the roster size by 50 percent. He then moved to Capital University, transforming a last-place program into a nationally ranked Top 15 team. Collins went on to coach at Saginaw Valley State University, where he led the program to three straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athlete Conference North Division championships and earned two national rankings.
From 2019-2020, Collins served as the director of player personnel for the prestigious Army West Point football team. He then worked as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Dayton from 2020-2021 before returning to his alma mater, Wittenberg University, as head coach for five years.
“For more than 30 years, Jim has been a strong program builder and an outstanding leader of young men,” Head of School Rob Zimmerman said. “Jim is the ideal coach to carry forward the proud tradition of Country Day football: success on the field and character off it.”
Collins inherits a very successful CCDS program that is coming off its fifth straight Miami Valley Conference Gray Division Championship and fifth straight playoff appearance. Under the leadership of Dennis Coyle (2019-2025), the Nighthawks posted a 51-23 record, averaging 38 points per game over the last five seasons while recording just 10 losses.
“I am incredibly excited and honored to be named the head football coach at Country Day. I understand the standard of excellence and great tradition the school is known for,” Collins said. “I have great respect for what Coach Dennis Coyle, his staff, and players have been able to accomplish, and I look forward to building on the strong foundation that is in place and relentlessly pursuing improvement in everything we do. I look forward to building strong relationships with our players, families, alumni, and community. Our mission will continue to be developing young men of character who will represent our school with pride and class on and off the field.”
Kiana Allen will take over the girls basketball program as head coach effective immediately. Allen brings extensive knowledge to CCDS from both her playing and coaching career.
As a Summit Country Day alum, Allen is extremely familiar with CCDS and the surrounding competitive landscape. During her tenure at Summit, she competed in soccer and basketball, earning two state championships in soccer and three Miami Valley Conference championships in basketball, where she also holds the school record for most three-pointers in a single game. Allen continued her playing career at Bethel College before transferring to Asbury University.
From 2023 to 2026, Allen served as head coach for the sixth- and eighth-grade girls basketball teams at Summit while also working as an assistant coach for the varsity program. She has emphasized player development, guiding athletes from the middle school level through their transition to varsity competition. Most recently, she led her eighth-grade team to a Miami Valley Conference championship this past season.
For the past six years, Allen has also been the head coach for the Cincy Swish eighth-grade girls basketball team, a highly competitive Amateur Athletic Union program.
“Coach Allen has incredible basketball IQ and is a wonderful teacher of the game. She is a terrific skills development coach and connects well with her players,” said Greg Ross, associate athletic director for upper school and boys varsity basketball coach. “The girls in our program will not only become better players and teammates, but better people under her leadership. Coach Allen understands what it takes to build a program, and I am extremely excited for the future of Country Day girls basketball.”
Allen’s emphasis on player development will be a valuable asset as she takes over a young program. The team was led by Josie Buckingham for the past two seasons, compiling a 9-36 record. Buckingham succeeded longtime head coach John Snell (2006-2024), who concluded his tenure with three straight district titles and a final four appearance in 2022. Allen aims to restore that level of sustained success to the program.
“I’m incredibly excited to coach at a school that was a major rival during my high school years,” says Allen. “I’ve always respected CCDS, and I am incredibly excited for the opportunity to coach this group of girls. I’m looking forward to continuing to build the program to be competitive in the conference and the state.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Country Day hires new football, girls basketball coaches
Reporting by Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
