Matthew Mitchell hires Dayton's Camryn Whitaker as new UK Hoops assistant

If you can’t beat ’em, hire ’em? This afternoon, UK Hoops announce the hiring of Camryn Whitaker, a Kentucky native and former assistant coach at Dayton. Whitaker fills the void left by assistant coach Christian Stefanopoulos, who resigned in December.

Whitaker, a Cynthiana native, returns to Kentucky after three season at Dayton, where she helped the Flyers advance to their first-ever Elite Eight appearance this year and a 99-94 win over the Wildcats in the second round. Prior to Dayton, Whitaker was an assistant coach for one season at her alma mater, Western Kentucky University, while also stopping at Austin Peay for two years and Missouri State for three seasons to begin her coaching career.

“Camryn will be an outstanding addition to our staff,” Matthew Mitchell said in a release. “She is a coach that I’ve known for a long time and I have always been impressed with her energy and the power she has to connect with people. I have greatly admired her ability to develop players. She has been a very successful recruiter and her passion for Kentucky and her desire to make a difference in this program are qualities that I greatly appreciate. I know Camryn will help us be an extremely successful program going forward, and I look forward to working with her.”

“I am extremely honored to have the opportunity to coach at the University of Kentucky,” Whitaker said.  “To be home is a dream come true for me and I am so grateful to Coach Mitchell and the Kentucky family for allowing me to be a part of this wonderful community.  I think Kentucky is the best athletics program in the country, and I look forward to working with such a quality and high-level staff.  I truly bleed blue and am excited to join Big Blue Nation. It’s a great day to be a Wildcat.”

Welcome aboard, Camryn!