Billy McKnight joined the USD men’s basketball staff in August 2022 and is entering his fourth season under Head Coach Steve Lavin. A veteran coach with nearly three decades of experience across the high school, prep school, NCAA Division I, and professional levels, McKnight brings an elite track record in player development, recruiting, scouting and program leadership to the Toreros.
Before arriving at USD, McKnight built a national reputation as one of the most successful prep school coaches in the country. As head coach at Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif., he guided the program to an overall record of 146–31 (.825) across five seasons (2015–2019, 2021–2022). His teams routinely competed among the nation’s toughest schedules, highlighted by a Final Four appearance at the 2022 GEICO National Championships and multiple top-five national ranking finishes.
During his tenure at Prolific Prep, McKnight coached six McDonald’s All-Americans and helped develop dozens of Division I players and future NBA athletes, including Adem Bona, Gary Trent Jr., Jeenathan Williams, Nathan Mensah and Josh Jackson. His leadership helped elevate Prolific Prep into a perennial national powerhouse and one of the most respected programs in high school basketball.
Internationally, McKnight gained valuable experience in China as an assistant coach for the
Foshan Long Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and as head coach at
Shantou University in the Chinese University Basketball Association (CUBA), China’s
equivalent to NCAA DI men’s basketball.
At Shantou, he built and implemented a comprehensive program modeled after top collegiate systems in the United States. McKnight began his collegiate coaching career at the University of Oregon, serving as a graduate manager for the Ducks from 2003 to 2005. While in Eugene, he played a key role in player development, personally training First Team All-American and future NBA first-round pick – No. 10 overall – Luke Jackson, and Pac-10 Player of the Year and NBA first-round pick Aaron Brooks. His work with elite collegiate athletes helped establish his reputation as a premier skill development coach.
A California native, McKnight earned his MBA from the University of Oregon’s Warsaw
Sports Marketing Program and holds a B.S. in Biochemistry with a minor in Economics
from UC San Diego.
Billy and his wife, Pat, reside in San Diego with their two sons, Ty and Shea.
