One of the most recognizable faces on the floor in Lady Monarch women's basketball history comes to the sidelines at her alma mater as an assistant coach for the Lady Monarchs. One of the most decorated players in Lady Monarch history, Celeste Hill Brockett returns to Old Dominion after serving as the head coach of Holmes High School in her hometown of Covington, Kentucky.
The 2008-09 season marked the second stint for Hill Brockett as an assistant having begun her coaching career with the Lady Monarchs during the 1998-99 after playing basketball overseas in Israel and Greece.
As a student-athlete, Hill Brockett helped Old Dominion begin its 17-year reign of Colonial Athletic Association titles, earning Player of the Year honors from the CAA three times. While donning the Lady Monarch uniform, Hill Brockett's teams compiled a 72-46 overall record and won three CAA conference championships. During her final two years, the Lady Monarchs were a perfect 28-0 in league play.
Besides her all-conference accolades, Hill Brockett was named the CAA Most Valuable Player in 1994, Player of the Year in the State of Virginia, and earned Kodak District III All-American honors. As a freshman, she was named the Sun Belt Rookie of the Year.
With her name still reading high in the Old Dominion and CAA history books, Hill Brockett stands fifth at Old Dominion in all-time scoring (2,112) and rebounding (1,124) and third in steals (327). She is currently the CAA leader in career scoring average (17.9) and is second in the league in all-time scoring and scoring average in a season (20.5). She was also the first player in Old Dominion history to lead the team in scoring and rebounding all four years of her career.
Hill Brockett performed the "double-double" 49 times in 118 career games, scored in double figures 107 times, and also performed a "triple-double" against Virginia Commonwealth in the 1993-94 season, scoring 20 points with ten rebounds and twelve steals. She ranked eighth nationally in field goal percentage (.616) her senior season and was also ranked 19th in the category as a freshman shooting 58.9 percent from the floor.
Continuing her career on the professional level, Hill-Brockett was a member of Ano Liosia in Athens, Greece and Ramat-Chen in Ramat Gan, Israel from 1998-2000.
Hill Brockett's coaching career began during 1998-99 season at her alma mater, where she helped guide the Lady Monarchs to their eighth CAA title and the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament. Old Dominion collected a 28-4 overall record and ranked as high as fifth nationally.
Following her second stint playing overseas, Hill Brockett returned to her hometown of Covington in Kentucky as her high school's assistant varsity and head junior varsity coach for four seasons before becoming the head coach in 2004. During her time with Holmes High School as an assistant coach, Hill Brockett's teams were the state runners-up in 2002 and captured the ninth regional championship. She also taught mathematics at Holmes and served as a Drop Out Prevention Coordinator and Covington Summer Youth Program Coordinator.
Graduating from Old Dominion in 1994 with a degree in human services and counseling, Hill Brockett is currently pursuing a master's degree in education from Northern Kentucky University. She was inducted into the Old Dominion Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame in September of 2006, and the Behringer-Crawford Museum in April 2008.
She and her husband, Gary Alexander Brockett, currently reside in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They have a son, Kingston, who is the newest addition to their family.