Kory Bays comes to USF as an assistant for his first season, but he’s no stranger to college basketball. This will be his 15th season as a coach, the last seven as head coach at Warner Southern College in Lake Wales, Fla.

Bays led WSC to 121 wins, 53 conference wins, and was named Florida Suncoast Conference Coach-of-the-Year twice in seven seasons as head coach (2001 and 2003). WSC won two FSC titles in 2002 and 2003, advanced to the NAIA Division II Final Four in 2003 and the Elite Eight in 2002. Bays' 121 wins are the most ever by a WSC coach. Bays coached nine NAIA All-Americans, one NAIA Player of the Year and three NAIA First-Team All-Americans.

A native of Portland, Ore., and a Montana State University-Billings graduate (1992), Coach Bays resides in Fort Wayne with his wife, Jennifer, and daughter Taylor.