(South Bend) — In 2018, Cory McKinney was playing basketball for Washington High School

Just seven years later, he’ll take the helm of the school’s most accomplished program.

Pending school board approval, McKinney will be named head coach of the Washington girls basketball team.  He takes over after the resignation of Steven Reynolds, Jr. in March. Reynolds left to be an assistant coach at Texas-Arlington, where his three daughters will be playing.

As a guard, McKinney led the Panthers in scoring in his junior and senior years, graduating in 2018. He then went to Indiana Tech, where he played 132 games, starting his last three seasons. McKinney made his mark on defense, where he was twice named the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

McKinney, who teaches special education at Washington, served on Ryan Varga’s staff for the boys squad last season.

“He just exemplifies what it means to be a Panther,” says Varga, who left to take the job at Jimtown this spring. “He was tenacious as a player, has a great work ethic, and it carries over to his coaching. I think he’ll do a great job.”

McKinney inherits a Washington program that has won five straight sectional crowns, including state runner-up honors in 2021 and the 3A state championship in 2022. However, six seniors graduated from last year’s team, including three Division I players (guard Ryiah Wilson, NIC MVP Kira Reynolds and Indiana All-Star Monique Mitchell).