The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Girls Coach of the Year for the 2024-25 school year is Kyle Willamson of Rancho Bernardo High School. Williamson led the Broncos to a Southern California Regional championship in girls basketball.

Kyle Williamson

High school: Rancho Bernardo

Sport: Girls basketball

Season in review: The Broncos finished 26-8 and won the Southern California Division 2 championship. RB lost the state championship game to Caruthers.

Career in review: In 10 seasons as the Broncos’ coach, Williamson is 214-98. His Broncos have won two SoCal titles (the other in 2021) and one San Diego Section crown (Division 2 in 2017). The Broncos have qualified for the state playoffs in six of Williamson’s 10 seasons. RB’s state record under Williamson: 12-5, including 10-0 at home.

Making the switch: Williamson was an RB boys varsity assistant for six seasons before taking over the girls program. ”The thing I love about girls that’s different from boys is if they believe in you, they’ll die for you and the team on the court. They’ll do everything,” he said. “Boys will say, ‘You want me to get dirty? You want me to dive on the court?’ But girls, if they believe in you and have pride in what your program represents, they’ll leave it all out on the court.”

Family affair: Williamson, 44, played for his father, Craig, at Sedona (Ariz.) Redrock High School, where he was a starting point guard. Williamson’s younger brother, Kevin, was the head coach at University of Saint Katherine in San Marcos before the school folded. Kevin Williamson is now the head coach at Dakota State in South Dakota.

Kyle Williamson is married and has two children, a daughter, Kelsey, 7, and son Connor, 4. Of his wife, Katie, Williamson said: “She’s my backbone.”

Working a 9-to-5 job: Williamson is a behavioral intervention assistant at Abraxas High School, a continuation school that serves students at risk of not earning a high school degree.

Defensive-minded: Williamson’s Broncos are noted for their tenacious defense. RB runs a full-court press almost all the time to great success. This year’s team allowed an average of 33.5 points per game.

Drilling defense: Every day at practice, the Broncos execute intense, one-on-one, full-court, defensive slide drills. If the offensive player scores, the defensive players do push-ups. If the defensive player gets a stop, the offensive player does push-ups. Said Williamson, “It’s an excellent drill because it works on conditioning, ball-handling and defense.”

While the drills molded RB’s defensive prowess, they weren’t a favorite of the players. At RB’s season-ending banquet, senior Keira Tokushige said, “One thing I won’t miss are those defensive slide drills.”

She said it: “He’s always been super supportive of me and believed in me, even if no one else did,” said Lindsay Biddle, who led the Broncos with an average of 19.1 points per game. “He started me as a freshman and gave me that push, made sure that I knew I was a good basketball player and I just needed more confidence.”

Did you know? Williamson was a talented high school golfer, finishing fifth in the Arizona state championship his senior year. He shot an 8-under 64 at Oak Creek Country Club in Sedona.

Citing golf’s cost and commitment to his family, Williamson hasn’t played a round since 2013.

Coachspeak: “He’s amazing, he’s awesome. A helluva coach,” Mission Hills’ Chris Kroesch said of Williamson. “The thing he does is he gets the most out of his group every single year.”