Cory McKinney is beginning his first year at Bethune-Cookman under first-year head coach Garon Jackson. At BCU, McKinney will serve as an assistant coach specializing in throws for the Wildcats.
A track & field coach at several institutions, McKinney most recently served as head coach at Horizon High School in Horizon West, Florida – an area in the Greater Orlando/Orange County district. He was in charge of both he boys’ and girls’ varsity teams from June 2021 through November 2022, before then being charge of his own throwing club for track & field athletes.
In the collegiate/university circuit, McKinney was an assistant coach at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida. He served in that role from August 2020 until June 2021. Additionally, he was an assistant coach at Fordham for both the men’s and women’s programs in 2020.
He was also a head coach in the prep field back in Florida at Armwood High School, just outside the Tampa rea of the state, leading both the boys’ and girls’ varsity teams.
McKinney, a two-year letterwinner at Indiana University East in Richmond, Indiana, was a two-time National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National “B” Standard thrower. He was the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) – now known as the River States Conference, Hammer Throw Conference Champion, in addition to being a six-time KIAC First Team All-Conference selection in track & field and cross country, respectively. He was 14 times named the KIAC Athlete of the Week.
He transferred for his final year of eligibility to Eastern Kentucky, where he earned a Masters in Exercise Science and Physical Education. With the Colonels, McKinney was an NCAA Division I Regional Qualifier after earning two first team all-conference awards in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Collegiately, McKinney competed in the shot put, discus, hammer throw, weight throw and javelin, respectfully. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree from Indiana University East in 2013, majoring in Business Administration.
In his coaching career, he has coached four student-athletes to NAIA national recognition. Zachary Nichols was a two-time NAIA runner-up in the hammer throw. DeMarco Lemons was a discus qualifier as a freshman in 2021, in addition to earning third place in the NAIA discus in 2022. Princess Nwankwo was a national qualifier for the discus in 2020, while Kyle Manuel finished third in the shot put at NAIA Indoors and seventh in the outdoor shot put.
McKinney has coached a number of high school athletes to individual accolades on his way to being named the 2022 Metro Conference Cross Country Coach of the Year. He was later named the 2022 FHSAA Cross Country State Championship 3-A District Coach of the Year with his boys’ varsity team qualifying for the Cross Country State Championship that same season. That team won each of the District and Metro Conference titles on the boys’ varsity side in cross country.
He has coached a total of 28 FHSAA Cross Country Regional qualifiers, adding eight state qualifiers and four track & field state qualifiers to go along with the cross country accolades. The list includes nine NAIA national qualifiers and four NAIA All-Americans.
