West Liberty University Athletics

The 2024-25 season was highlighted by the standout performance of junior guard Bailee Smith, who earned First Team All-Mountain East Conference honors. A former MEC Freshman of the Year, Smith ranked second in the conference in three-point field goals made (67) and third in threes per game (2.4). She also finished fifth in MEC scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game. Smith enters the 2025-26 season ranked 12th on WLU’s all-time scoring list with 1,245 career points. As a team the Hilltoppers led the MEC in three-point shooting percentage, hitting 34-percent of their shoots per game while also averaging 9.2 three-point field goals per contest. 

Under Cooper’s leadership, Hilltopper players have garnered national recognition. Marissa Brown was a two-time All-American and All-Atlantic Region selection, earning 2019 Atlantic Region Player of the Year honors. Audrey Tingle made history in 2022, setting NCAA Division II records for single-season and career triple-doubles, while also earning All-Region honors and being named the 2022 CoSIDA NCAA Division II Academic All-America Team Member of the Year.

Cooper’s teams have also excelled academically. The 2023-24 squad ranked No. 12 nationally in the WBCA Academic Top 25 with a team GPA of 3.763, marking the sixth time his program has earned a spot on the national academic rankings.

Before taking over as head coach, Cooper spent four seasons as lead assistant under legendary head coach Lynn Ullom, helping the program to an 82-45 (.646) record, including three 20-win campaigns. That run featured back-to-back MEC championships in 2015 and 2016. The 2016 team set a school record with a 29-5 mark, spent the entire season ranked in the USA Today Top 25, and advanced to the first NCAA “Sweet 16” in program history, finishing at No. 18 nationally.

Cooper began his coaching journey at West Virginia University, serving as assistant head manager and basketball camp counselor for Coach John Beilein’s Elite Eight and Sweet 16 teams in 2005 and 2006. From 2007 to 2010, he worked with the WVU women’s basketball program as head student manager and graduate assistant under Coach Mike Carey, contributing to four consecutive postseason appearances, including three NCAA Tournament bids and a WNIT run.

In 2010, Cooper became Director of Women’s Basketball Operations at Ohio University under Coach Semeka Randall. He then joined Wheeling Jesuit University as an assistant coach, spending two seasons there before moving on to West Liberty.

A Waterford, Pennsylvania native, Cooper graduated summa cum laude from West Virginia University in 2008 with dual bachelor’s degrees in Sport Management and Athletic Coaching Education, along with a minor in Business Administration. He earned his master’s degree in Educational Leadership with a focus on Higher Education from WVU in 2010.

Kyle and his wife, Katie Cooper, are proud members of the West Liberty University family. Katie serves as the university’s Vice President for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management. They reside in Wellsburg, West Virginia, with their two children, Brody and Cali.