Deardin Kelley, a former assistant at Labette who spent this past fall as a head coach at William Jewell in the NCAA, has been tabbed as the newest head volleyball coach for the Labette Cardinals.
Kelley replaces Haley Cook, who spent seven years as the head coach at Labette. Kelley served as an assistant under Cook for two seasons (202021) before becoming the head coach at Coffeyville.
Cook resigned in late December to take a job in Wichita outside of coaching.
“I wanted to be in a situation where I’m close to my family and everybody knows me,” Kelley said. “It was a wonky timeline because Haley had come to me and talked about leaving. All of a sudden, two weeks later, the blocks started falling into place. It was divine timing and here we are.”
In her two years at Coffeyville, Kelley guided the Red Ravens to 48 wins. Last fall, she took over a rebuilding effort at William Jewell, an NCAA Division II school in Liberty, Missouri, that competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. William Jewell went 7-22 — she also coached local Parsons High School graduate Iniya Hinman there.
“Any coaching job, regardless of level or division, is an opportunity to learn something,” Kelley said. “I got to try out different things at Jewell that I never had the opportunity to do, and that adds to my backpack.”
Kelley feels her familiarity with the Kansas Jayhawk Conference — she played at Fort Scott prior to her coaching career — will help her quickly reacclimate to Labette.
“This conference is something to be proud of,” Kelley said. “It’s very competitive. I’m familiar with everybody, we’re all friends. I still have the rapport with all of the coaches. So I think I’ll be able to jump back in.”
Kelley is one of three former assistants of Cook that have become head coaches — Kandi Midgett replaced Kelley at Coffeyville while Alexis Kapales is the head coach at Jackson State.
Kelley inherits a program that has struggled to amass wins but has earned NJCAA Academic Team of the Year honors in each of the last three seasons.
Labette finished 7-24 last fall — the Cardinals were one conference win shy of earning the school’s first postseason berth since 2014.
“It’s the recruiting aspect and it’s about relationships,” Kelley said. “I can dive in. I’m a big personality, and it’s take it or leave it. But I’m also a loyal person and that breeds loyal athletes.”
Bucking the normal trend of head coaches wanting to turn a program’s culture on its head, Kelley believes a foundation already exists.
“It’s going to be a process with ups and downs,” Kelley said. “We’re just going to have to navigate the best way possible. We have to have a good mental foundation. The culture is good already. Now we need athletes that can compete at a higher level while maintaining the culture Haley has set.”
Cook was the second-longest tenured head coach at Labette, behind only Ryan Phillips who helms the softball program. Kelley said she plans on being in Parsons for the foreseeable future.
“When they asked me that in the interview, I was honest in that I want to be settled,” Kelley said. “I feel like I’m a nomad. I want to be somewhere where I can build something and not just be following aimlessly. I try to be purposeful. But I’ve always been starting over. I want to truly build and Labette is a good place to do it.”
Kelley’s first day at Labette will be on Jan. 29. The school’s Board of Trustees can approve Kelley’s hiring at its next meeting in February. She informed William Jewell of her departure on Wednesday.
