Hilliary Scott

Lynchburg native and former Penn State University assistant Hilliary Scott joined the University of Lynchburg athletic department as head men's basketball coach prior to the 2008-09 season.

As the Hornets' mentor, Scott has amassed more than 200 wins, led the program to its first NCAA Division III tournament victory, and its first appearance in the D3hoops.com top 25 poll.

In 2021-22, Lynchburg's team earned Scott his 200th-career victory as the Hornets played to a 14-12 record and reached the Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinals. T.C. Thacker and Tharon Suggs repeated their All-ODAC honors from the season prior, and Thacker was named second-team all-region.

During the COVID-19 shortened season, Scott and the Hornets went 6-4 and played their way into a ODAC championship appearance against Randolph-Macon. Scott coached Thacker to an Academic All-America first-team selection as well as all-conference honors. Suggs was also on the All-ODAC team.

Lynchburg went 15-12 in 2019-20 and reached the Old Dominion Athletic Conference semifinals for the first time in four seasons. Two Hornets landed on the All-ODAC teams, with junior T.C. Thacker garnering a first-team accolade.

His 2018-19 iteration of the Lynchburg men's basketball team matched the program's best-ever regular season with a 20-5 record and reached as high as No. 14 in the national top 25. The team began the season 17-1, defeating a number of top-25 teams and several more that finished the season in the NCAA regional rankings. Two Hornets, Austin Wrighten and Connor Schroeder, earned All-ODAC honors, and Wrighten landed spots on the All-State and all-region squads.

In 2017-18, Scott's Hornets finished 15-12, winning six of their final eight games to storm into the top half of the ODAC yet again. The season started with a bang when Lynchburg upset Division I Norfolk State, 83-80, in a preseason exhibition. Schroeder earned first-team All-ODAC honors for his part.

The 2016-17 season saw Lynchburg earn a first-round bye in the ODAC tournament after going 16-10. For the second straight year, the ODAC Player of the year was a Lynchburg Hornet, as senior Zack Burnett earned the honor while also being named first-team all-conference, All-State, and all-region as well as second-team All-America. Burnett represented Lynchburg in the NABC Division III All-Star Game.

The 2015-16 season was the best season in school history to that point. Lynchburg ended the year with a 23-7 record, the most wins in program history, and a 12-4 conference record, also the best ever. The Hornets captured their first Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) title and NCAA Division III tournament berth since the 1978-79 season. Lynchburg won two conference tournament games by large margins and earned the title with a 62-60 victory in overtime over Randolph College. Coach Scott led the Hornets to an 82-55 win over Scranton in the NCAA tournament and his team fell just short of a trip to the Sweet 16. Three Hornets, Alex Graves, Austen Arnold and Burnett, broke the 1,000-point barrier during the season.

Lynchburg also broke records during the regular season, many during a 160-156 double overtime win over Roanoke College on February 17. Lynchburg broke the school and conference all-time mark for most points in a game, and the two teams' combined total of 316 surpassed the NCAA Division III top mark, set by Simpson (167) and Grinnell (148), in 1994.

The Hornets won 17 games in 2014-15, the fourth-straight campaign with over 15 wins. Lynchburg was 9-7 in league play and narrowly missed earning a berth to the conference tournament semifinals. Lynchburg had three players named to the All-ODAC team for the first time since the late 1970s. 

The 2013-14 season saw the program do something it had never done before - it posted double-digit wins in ODAC play. The 10 victories gave the team the fourth-seed and a bye to the conference quarterfinals in Salem.

In 2012-13, the Hornets had their best season since 1977-78, tying the school record with 19 wins. 

The Hornets began the climb up the ODAC in 2010-11, finishing with a record of 15-11 and a fifth-place finish in the conference.

In his second season, Scott helped the Hornets finish 12-15 and earn a trip to the conference championship tournament in Salem.

In his tenure, Lynchburg has had 25 all-conference selections and two ODAC players of the year. Graves, also the All-South Player of the Year, became the program’s first first-team NABC All-American in 2016.

Scott attended E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg and played his collegiate basketball at nearby Roanoke College. As a Maroon, he was an NABC All-American in 1993 and 1994 and was named the ODAC's player of the year in his senior season. Scott graduated from Roanoke in May of 1994 with a degree in religion and philosophy, and was inducted into the RC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. In April of 2013, Scott was named to the All-Century Team at Roanoke College.

Before entering the coaching ranks, Scott played professional basketball in Europe for two teams. As a member of the Killester Basketball Club (Dublin, Ireland), he played from 1994-96 before joining the Chester Jets (England) for the 1996-97 season.

He also worked for five seasons as an assistant coach at East Tennessee State University (1998-2003). The Buccaneers won three-straight Southern Conference North Division Titles and earned an NCAA tournament berth in 2002-03. Scott recruited three conference players of the year and the all-time leading scorer at ETSU. 

Scott was an assistant coach at Penn State University from 2003-08. In 2005, the Nittany Lions earned a berth to the NIT, and the team advanced to the NCAA tournament the next three seasons. He helped recruit three-student athletes that earned all-conference honors a total of seven times, including the program’s all-time leading scorer.

Scott resides in Lynchburg with his wife, Lisa, their son, Isaiah, and daughter, Haley. He earned his Master's in Educational Studies in 2021 from University of Lynchburg.