Kevin Kiernan
Mater Dei High School
Impact Statement
Kiernan has coached teams to 10 CIF State Championship and owns over 800 career victories.
Biography
Believe it or not, Kiernan’s first job after graduating from college was as a sportswriter – at the Orange County Register and the Anaheim Bulletin. Not fond of the late nights, Kiernan landed the head coaching position at Westminster La Quinta High School, which had won just eight of 82 games in the three seasons prior to his arrival. Over the next five seasons, La Quinta went 110-79 and made a state tournament appearance under Kiernan, who has gone on to put together 20 glittering seasons.
From La Quinta, Kiernan moved on to Fullerton Troy High School. In 11 seasons, his teams went 317-33, never lost a Freeway League game (going 110-0 in those games), and won five Southern Section titles and three state championships. The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) named him the Russell Athletic/WBCA National High School Coach of the Year in 2006. In four years at Mater Dei, Kiernan’s teams are 123-7, and he owns a 613-109 career record (a .849 winning percentage).
This year, his Monarchs finished 34-1, ended the season on a 26-game winning streak and won their second consecutive state championship – in Division 1AA this year after moving up from Division II a year ago – giving him five state titles overall. This year’s title made Mater Dei the first girls basketball team in five years to finish No. 1 in the USA Today Super 25 in consecutive seasons, and the newspaper named Kiernan its National Coach of the Year in 2010. The Register named him its Coach of the Year this season.
Since being honored, Kiernan has continued to lead Mater Dei to success. He just completed his 13th year and led the Monarch’s to another CIF State Championship in February of 2020. In January, he won his 800th game with a victory over Bishop Gorman.
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