UC-Beckley Hires Five Coaches to Lead Athletic Programs - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

University of Charleston Regional President Jerry Forster today announced the hiring of five coaches to lead UC-Beckley's newly founded athletic teams for the 2013-14 academic year. The coaches start immediately and their teams will begin play this fall.

"I'm very excited to welcome our first five coaches to UC-Beckley today," said Dr. Forster. "Each of these young coaches have a tie to the University previous to today's announcement, so they will be able to immediately incorporate UC's long-standing history of athletic excellence to our athletic programs."

Lisa Lee will lead UC-B's women's basketball program. Lee, a First Team All-American while playing for the University of Charleston, played six seasons as a professional in Europe before coming back to West Virginia to start her coaching career. As a player for the Golden Eagles, Lee's teams made three straight NCAA Tournaments, including two Elite Eight appearances. Lee was recently inducted into the University of Charleston Sports Hall of Fame for her athletic achievements during her playing career at UC.

Men's basketball in Beckley will be under the direction of Daniel Mitchell. Mitchell played his college career at Division I Radford University before joining Mark Downey's UC coaching staff last season. While on the Charleston staff, the Blacksburg, Va., native led the junior varsity squad. Mitchell holds a degree in Sports Administration.

Kelsey Eby, a native of Portland, Ore., will lead the women's volleyball program at UC-B. Eby was a four-year standout for the Golden Eagle volleyball program in Charleston. She will be graduate with her bachelor's degree in Sports Administration from UC this May.

The men's soccer program will be guided by Ryan Osborne. A native of Wakefield, England, Osborne played two seasons for the nationally-ranked Golden Eagles before moving to an assistant coaching role for Head Coach Chris Grassie this past season. Osborne holds a USSF D coaching license.

Sabrina Mullaney will coach the women's soccer team at UC-B. Mullaney is a 2012 graduate of the University of Charleston where she played four seasons under current head coach Todd Diuguid. While a player, Mullaney and her teammates excelled in the classroom, earning NSCAA All-Academic honors all four years. Mullaney is a native of Dundalk, Md.

The 2012-13 academic year marks UC's 125th anniversary as an academic institution. UC was founded in 1888 as Barboursville Seminary, renamed Morris Harvey College in 1901, moved to Charleston in 1935 and was renamed the University of Charleston in 1978.