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920! Deshler’s Killen Sets AHSAA Wins Record

Anyone who has ever coached a basketball game on any level understands that winning just a single game is not an easy thing. Deshler’s Jana Killen has won 920 of them.

With a victory against regional foe Hatton on Tuesday, Killen set a record for the most wins as a high school basketball coach in Alabama state history, breaking the late Eugene Mason’s mark of 919 wins at R.C. Hatch High School in Uniontown, Alabama.

Killen, originally from Lawrenceburg, Tenn., played point guard from 1984-86 at the University of North Alabama (UNA), where she received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She served as a graduate assistant at UNA before accepting a coaching and teaching role at Deshler in 1989. Since that time, she has coached basketball, volleyball, softball, and tennis at DHS.

Photo courtesy al.com | Vasha Hunt

Winning has been a consistent theme of Killen-coached teams. Her basketball teams have collected 7 state titles—including four straight from 2003-06—and have won at least 34 games in a season on six occasions. Killen holds an overall record of 920-257 as the girls’ basketball coach at Deshler.

What is more, Killen has actually won more games as a volleyball coach, posting a 1,063-492 career record during the same span. Though her volleyball teams have yet to win a state title, the Lady Tigers were state runner-up in both 2007 and 2017.

Killen is the only coach in Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) and National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) history to win 1,000 games in volleyball and 800 games in basketball, making her one of the winningest high school coaches in the nation.

But her contribution does not end on the court. In 2021, Killen, a math teacher at Deshler, was named Tuscumbia City Schools Teacher of the Year.

Killen was selected to the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. That same year, Deshler’s court was named in her honor. TG

Cover photo: Coach Killen celebrates her 919th win, tying Mason’s record. Photo courtesy Deshler Athletics.

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