LOCKNEY – Lockney ISD has a complete staff of coaches for the upcoming school year. Athletic Director Jonathan Thiebaud tells the Record that includes recent hires for the Lady Horns basketball and softball programs.
Stephanee Carrillo will have her initial head coaching position in high school after being a collegiate assistant basketball coach the past five years, and Kay’D Villegas is fulfilling a dream of being a coach when she takes over the softball team.
Carrillo played high school basketball for Lubbock Monterey under coach Jill Rankin Schneider through 2012. She then played one season at Howard Junior College in Big Spring before transferring to the the University of the Southwest in Hobbs, New Mexico.
According to an online bio Carrillo dealt with some adversity in college career by battling and surviving thyroid cancer in 2015. The cancer caused her to step away from basketball for one year, but she filled a position on the USW golf team. She played two more years of basketball after the thyroid cancer surgery.
Following college graduation with Bachelor and Master degrees in Kinesiology and Exercise Science, she was an assistant basketball coach at New Mexico Junior College, also in Hobbs before returning to the University of the Southwest. She then headed north to Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa for her final collegiate assistant coaching stop. “Being a head coach excites me, knowing I have the opportunity to impact the players on and off the court. I am excited about Lockney’s returning experience from a 26-win team that has both talent and chemistry of working together. It is more than you can ask for,” explained Carrillo.
Villegas was equally excited about the Lady Horns softball program that has all of the roster returning for another campaign. Villegas grew up in New Deal and played against Lockney throughout her high school career of playing catcher for the Lady Lions. She finished her career at New Deal in 2014. She graduated from Lubbock Christian University in 2021 and has worked at the YMCA in Lubbock the past year.
Other coaching changes at Lockney in the last few months includes Chris Mann as the head coach of the Longhorns basketball team and offensive coordinator for football; Cody Brewer taking over the Longhorns baseball program; and Tanae Guerrero was promoted to head cross country coach and head girls track coach.
