The winningest basketball coach in McDaniel College history

McDaniel College basketball coach Kevin Curley was beaming in the locker room in February.

His team had just beaten longtime rival Johns Hopkins University for the first time in a decade, and now it was time to celebrate. Curley commended the players, stressing what a special moment this was for them.

“He was just happy and joyful that we had gotten to this point and that we were on such a good path,” said David Kearney, a recent McDaniel graduate who played on the team.

What most players and staff didn’t know was that Curley had just received chemotherapy treatment that morning. He was diagnosed with aggressive esophageal cancer a month earlier but wanted to keep coaching until he couldn’t anymore.

“That just kind of tells you where he was, mindset-wise, and he maintained that attitude the entire way through,” said his brother, Greg Curley.

Kevin Curley, who became McDaniel College’s winningest basketball coach over nearly two decades at the school, died May 27. He was 54.

He was born Aug. 2, 1971, in State College, Pennsylvania, to Steve and Judi Curley. He and Greg, 2 and 1/2 years his junior, grew up playing just about every sport — basketball, baseball, soccer, football. Sports was in their blood; their father was a walk-on basketball player at Pennsylvania State University.

The boys were regulars at Penn State football and basketball games, and Kevin decided in middle school that he wanted to become a college basketball coach. After graduating high school, he spent two years at Penn State Altoona, where he was captain of the basketball team. He then transferred to the university’s main campus, where he opted not to continue playing.

He graduated in 1994 and started his basketball coaching career right away as an assistant at Bethany College in West Virginia. He simultaneously earned a master’s degree in physical education. In 1998, he became an assistant coach at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, where he spent nine seasons.

Kevin Curley’s coaching style was direct and demanding, and he held his players to high standards, said his brother, also a college basketball coach. But he was also his players’ biggest supporter.

“I think in his mind there’s an absolute right way to play, and that’s hard and together and selfless,” Greg Curley said. ”He just really believed in showing up every day.”

In New York, Kevin Curley met his wife, Allison, an elementary school teacher. They clicked immediately, both valuing family relationships and stability. In 2007, Kevin Curley got the head coaching gig at McDaniel and the couple welcomed their twins, Caroline and Nathaniel.

Kevin Curley quickly found his home with the Green Terror. He led the team to seven appearances in the Centennial Conference men’s basketball championship and five in the ECAC Division III championship. The school faced tough competition, but he never shied from a challenge.

“I think he honestly relished an underdog role, and he loved that part of it, just the grind and the competitiveness, and the humble, simple approach to all of it,” his brother said.

Kearney said Kevin Curley was an “old-school” coach who pushed his players to be the best versions of themselves on and off the court. He asked them to show up early, work hard and be leaders.

“He was always in there talking some life lessons, talking about, ‘Hey, what are you doing with your future, and what kind of things can we help you with?’” said Jeremy Shepherd, the athletic director at McDaniel.

It was perhaps that holistic approach that helped Curley set the school record for wins. He did that in 2024; a year later, he became the first coach to total 200 victories at McDaniel.

“It speaks to your longevity as a coach,” Shepherd said. “You have to be really good for a really long time at a school like McDaniel to do that, and it’s hard to get coaches to stay around that long these days.”

Curley always credited his players for his success.

One of the reasons Curley most loved working at McDaniel was that it’s a Division III program, his brother said. Being at a smaller program wasn’t so consuming that he couldn’t spend time with his family or stay involved in his children’s lives. He welcomed a third child, Gabriel, in 2010.

He loved playing with his kids, taking them to the gym, coaching their youth sports teams and cheering them on. After his diagnosis, his only concern was living as long as possible, with the best quality of life, to be there for his family, Greg Curley said.

“Coaching your own kids and that stuff can be challenging,” he said. “But it was his way of helping them improve and be better, and showing how much he cared. He was going to be there for everything he possibly could.”

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