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University of Nebraska - Kearney Athletics

Devin Eighmey

Devin Eighmey

Devin Eighmey joined the Nebraska-Kearney women's basketball coaching staff in the spring of 2016 and is involved in all aspects of the program.

Since his arrival UNK has won 97 games and had three 20-win seasons. The Lopers also reached the 2021 NCAA Tournament, won the 2021 MIAA Tournament and have been regionally and nationally ranked.

During the 2015-16 season he was a Loper men's basketball assistant coach and part of a program that went 21-12, reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament and was MIAA Tournament runners up.

In 2016-17 the UNK women won eight of its final 12 games to host an MIAA Tournament first round game. Playing one of Division II's toughest schedule, the Lopers twice beat nationally-ranked Central Oklahoma while taking league champ Pittsburg State to overtime on the road. Having the lowest scoring defense by a Loper team in over a decade (62.5), UNK saw guard Michaela Barry earn third-team All-MIAA honors.   

Barry (1,451) and fellow senior McKenzie Brown (1,350) reached the 1,000-point milestone during the 2017-18 season. Brown set a new UNK record for career threes (249) while Barry was tabbed first-team All-MIAA, the first Loper to earn that award. Along with grad transfer Alyssa Frauendorfer, this trio led Kearney to a 21-7 record, the program's 17th 20-win season. UNK was regionally-ranked for the first time in nearly a decade. MIAA Tour. Champs

A year later a Kearney team with seven true freshmen went 15-14 and tied for eighth. Qualifying for the MIAA Tournament once again, the freshmen class accounted for 71% of the team's point total with two being named all-conference. 

The young group had one of the best in school history in 2019-20 as UNK went 26-6 to place third in the MIAA. The Lopers were regionally and nationally ranked, went 14-1 at home, and had winning streaks of seven and 11 games, respectively. The 26 wins were two shy of tying the school record and marked the ninth time in program history a squad reached 25 victories. Four were named All-MIAA as the Lopers averaged 75 points a night.

This now junior class continued to take another step as UNK went 23-4 and reached the NCAA Tournament in 2020-21. The Lopers won the MIAA Tournament title, beating regular season champion Fort Hays on its’ homecourt, while once again being ranked nationally. UNK reached the NCAA’s for the first time in a dozen years and promptly recorded the program’s third trip to the “Sweet 16.”  The team won with defense as opponents scored a school-record 53.0 points per game against UNK.

A native of Independence, Mo., Eighmey served as a men's graduate assistant coach at Northwest Missouri State in 2014 and 2015. He was part of a program that won 49 games during that time. The Bearcats won its first outright MIAA regular season title in 30 years in 2014-15 while also reaching the NCAA “Sweet 16” for a second straight season. Northwest had a slew of individual honors during those two seasons, including an NABC All-American, two MIAA Freshmen of the Year and two MIAA Defensive Players of the Year.

UNK WBBPrior to working in Maryville, Eighmey coached at Division II William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo. He helped the Cardinal men's team win 14 games and reach the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament in 2012-13.

As a player, Eighmey was a two-time all-region selection at Central Missouri College and then played at Division II Upper Iowa and Peru State. In his senior season for the Bobcats, he was named team captain and played in all 30 games.

He graduated from Peru with a double major (K-12 Health & P.E. and Sports Management & Exercise Science) and helped coach the Bobcats while finishing his degree. Eighmey also holds a Master’s in Education from NW Missouri.

He is married to UNK head women's basketball coach Carrie Hofstetter.