Kayla Ard is in her fourth season as the head coach at Utah State, after being hired on March 23, 2020.
In the 2022-23 season, Ard led the Aggies to a 4-26 record. In the classroom, eight players were named Whitesides scholar-athletes while seven earned academic all-conference honors and six were named Mountain West Scholar-Athletes.
The ninth head coach in program history, Ard led the Aggies to an 11-19 overall record, including a 5-13 mark in Mountain West play, in the 2021-22 season, nearly tripling the previous season's win total. Utah State finished the season ranked third in offensive rebounds per game (12.43) and fourth in assists per game (14.20). Ard coached guard/forward Adryana Quezada to earn all-MW honorable mention recognition.
In the classroom, Utah State had six women’s basketball players earn academic all-Mountain West honors, while five players were named MW Scholar-Athletes.
Ard posted a 4-20 record in her first season at the helm, having inherited a young team. The Aggies finished the year ranking 26th in the nation and fourth in the MW in defensive rebounds with 29.2 defensive boards per game. They also ranked fifth in the conference in total rebounds per game (40.2).
Off the court, Utah State had 10 women’s basketball players earn academic all-Mountain West honors, while seven players were named MW Scholar-Athletes.
Ard brought 10 years of collegiate experience with her to Utah State, previously serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Denver, Dayton, Clemson, Troy and Pensacola State. In all, she has coached one WNBA draft pick and 17 players that have played professionally overseas.
Known for her strong recruiting, Ard immediately made her mark at Denver as the Pioneers signed the top-ranked recruiting class in the Summit League in her first season, according to ASGR Basketball. Ard also helped Dayton sign the 19th ranked recruiting class in the nation in 2016, according to ESPN. While at Clemson, the Tigers signed six of the top 43 recruits in the nation at their position, per ESPN. During her time at Troy, the Trojans signed four NJCAA All-Americans and five of the top 31 recruits in the nation at their position, per ESPN. And at Pensacola State, Ard helped recruit and coach eight All-Americans.
Ard came to Utah State after spending the past three seasons as the associate head coach, recruiting coordinator and offensive coordinator at the University of Denver under Jim Turgeon, as she helped the Pioneers to three-straight non-losing seasons with a 49-43 (.533) overall record and a 26-20 (.565) mark in the Summit League. Prior to Ard’s arrival at DU, the Pioneers had suffered through five-straight losing seasons, which included single-digit wins in each of their previous four years.
During the 2019-20 season, Ard spent the last 11 games as the team’s interim head coach, leading the Pioneers to a 7-4 record and a third-seed in the Summit League Championships. As interim head coach, Ard led DU to its first road win of the season with a 91-81 win at North Dakota and six straight wins to end the regular season, which included a 72-62 victory at South Dakota State, a program that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament a year ago. That six-game winning streak for Denver was its longest in eight years, while its win at SDSU was its first since 2015.
Denver finished the 2019-20 season by setting a school record with a free throw percentage of 77.1, while posting the fourth-highest scoring average in program history at 77.6 points per game. In fact, its 2,328 points this past season are the second-most in school history as the Pioneers went 15-15 overall, including a 9-7 record in league play.
Individually, Ard helped Madison Nelson earn first-team all-Summit League honors as she set program records for single-season points (592), rebounds (343) and scoring average (19.7). Nelson also became the first player in Denver’s Division I era to average a double-double with 19.7 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.
Ard also mentored Lauren Loven to second-team all-Summit League honors this past season as she finished her career second in conference history with 341 made 3-pointers and 832 3-point attempts, and eighth all-time in scoring with 1,453 points.
In Ard’s third and final season at Denver, the Pioneers finished third in the nation in free throws made (504), 14th in free throw attempts (654), 18th in scoring offense (77.6) and 19th in free throw percentage (77.1). In league play, DU was first in free throw percentage (77.1), first in free throws made (504), first in total rebounds (1,264), first in rebounds per game (42.1), second in scoring offense (77.6), second in steals per game (9.3), second in free throw attempts (654), third in 3-pointers made per game (7.2) and third in 3-point percentage (33.7).
During the 2018-19 season, Denver posted an 18-14 overall record and a 10-6 mark in the Summit League, its most overall and league wins in seven seasons. DU also advanced to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament for the second time in school history and secured its first-ever postseason win with an 83-75 victory at New Mexico in the opening round.
The Pioneers’ offense produced at historic levels throughout the year, resulting in the best offensive numbers in the program’s Division I era. DU’s 80.3 scoring average not only was the best in school history, but ranked 11th in all of Division I that season. The Pioneers were especially deadly from beyond the arc, ranking third in the country in 3-point percentage (38.6 percent), third in 3-pointers made per game (9.3) and 17th in total 3-pointers made (297). Those 297 treys made also set a school record. Defensively, Denver also ranked 19th in the nation in blocked shots with 161.
Ard helped pioneer the new-age offense by continuing to develop Nelson, Loven and Samantha Romanowski into all-league selections. Nelson, a second-team honoree, finished third in the league in scoring (16.3 points per game) and first in rebounding average (8.9). Loven, an honorable-mention pick, finished seventh in all of the NCAA in 3-pointers made with 111 and led the Summit League in 3-point shooting percentage at 44.4 percent, also good for eighth in the country. Romanowski also earned honorable mention honors after taking on the point-guard duties, finishing 11th in the country in assists per game with a 6.0 average.
During her first season at Denver, Ard helped the Crimson and Gold to a 16-14 record, which was a 10-win improvement from the previous season and its first winning record in six years. That 10-win improvement tied for the highest turnaround by a first-year staff in the country that season.
In her first season with the Pioneers, Ard successfully implemented a fast-pace offense that saw DU finish the season ranked 27th in 3-pointers made per game (8.5), 40th in 3-point field-goals made (256), 48th in 3-point field-goal percentage (.359) and 72nd in scoring offense (70.6 ppg).
Individually, Claire Gritt earned Summit League Freshman of the Year honors, along with being named to the Newcomer Team and honorable mention team, along with Jordyn Alt.
Prior to her role at Denver, Ard spent two seasons at the University of Dayton, where she served as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. While at Dayton, Ard coached a class that was ranked in the top 20 in the nation in 2015 and also worked with the 2015 A-10 Rookie of the Year.
Prior to her time at Dayton, Ard was an assistant coach at Clemson for two years, helping guide the team to compete in the always-tough Atlantic Coast Conference.
Ard also coached at Troy under Chanda Rigby, whom she followed from Pensacola State before the 2012-13 season. Ard was instrumental in putting together Troy’s eight-member 2013 signing class, which included three National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Americans.
Ard was a standout recruiter and assistant coach at Pensacola State College in Florida during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, helping the Pirates earn back-to-back appearances in the NJCAA National Semifinals.
As recruiting coordinator at Pensacola State, Ard signed three WBCA All-Americans and coached the players to 13 all-conference honors. Her players moved on to earn scholarships in the Big East, SEC, Pac-12 and Colonial Athletic Conference.
A native of Hammond, La., Ard was highly recruited out of Loranger High School after averaging over 26.0 points a game, earning all-district honors three consecutive years and leading her team to three final four appearances, including a state championship in 2000 under the direction of Rigby.
Ard’s collegiate career began on the junior college level at Chipola (Fla.) Junior College. After playing one season there, she transferred to Southeastern Louisiana where she played from 2004-06, including an all-Southland Conference selection in 2005.
Ard graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in general studies. She then earned her master’s degree in psychology from the University of Phoenix in 2013.