Wells Takes on Men's Basketball Coach Kelly Wells becomes UPIKE's Athletic Director By Mark Baggett UPIKE Basketball Coach Kelly Wells, who succeeded Robert Staggs as athletic director on July 1, says modestly that his journey to the office is “a little bit of a long story.” But the sustained success of his coaching record at UPIKE and in Kentucky high schools did not come without the challenges to his own health and a detour far away from the Bluegrass state. As a basketball coach’s son in a basketball state, he grew up as a gym rat. When he graduated from high school, he went first to the University of Tulsa, then transferred to Morehead State University (MSU), where his father, Mickey Wells, was the women’s basketball coach (from 1975-84), was Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year twice, and is now a Morehead Athletic Hall of Fame member. Wells played three years (1992 to 1994) at MSU, where he scored more than 450 points and was named 1993-94 Academic All-OVC Conference. He earned both a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and a Master of Arts in Education degree from MSU. He moved into coaching as a high school coach and business teacher at Marion County High School and then at Mason County High School. There, he won the Kentucky State Championship in 2003 and was runner-up in 2004, but in between seasons, his life changed. Even before graduating from MSU, Wells did 26
UPIKE MAGAZINE | FALL 2018
