Kevin Walden, assistant men's basketball coach at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, has been named head basketball coach and sports information director at Warren Wilson College, athletics director Stacey Enos has announced.

Walden accepted the position after a nationwide search attracted well over 100 applicants. His dual year-round appointment is effective July 1.

"Kevin Walden impressed the search committee and the basketball team with his knowledge of coaching and his playing experience," Enos said. "He is a true players' coach who will drive our student-athletes to achieve higher standards on and off the court, as well as elevate our program to a new level. Kevin is eager and well prepared to assume his first head collegiate coaching job, and Warren Wilson is fortunate to be the college."

Walden said, "I consider it an honor and privilege to be named the head coach and sports information director at Warren Wilson College. I want to thank President Sandy Pfeiffer and Stacey Enos for this great opportunity, and I am looking forward to working with them and the entire Warren Wilson community. I could not be more excited about this opportunity."

At St. Ambrose, Walden helped the Bees to a 33-30 record in his two years there, including a second-place finish in the Midwest Collegiate Conference in 2006-07. He recruited 37 players to St. Ambrose and coached two 1,000-point scorers. Walden served as head junior varsity coach and director of the Ray Shovlain Fighting Bees basketball camp. He also has substantial experience as an instructor at camps elsewhere in the Midwest and in Georgia.

Before joining the St. Ambrose staff, Walden was assistant men's basketball coach and sports information director at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., his alma mater. Walden also was head junior varsity coach at Knox College, where as a player he was team captain and MVP his senior year.

A native of Peoria, Ill., Walden holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Knox and a master's degree in organizational leadership from St. Ambrose. He is a 1997 graduate of Peoria Notre Dame High School.

In his new position at Warren Wilson College, Walden will be responsible for the oversight and operation of the men's basketball program as well as the college's sports information office. The Owls, members of the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association, field intercollegiate teams in basketball, soccer, swimming, cross country and mountain biking, the latter a sport in which Warren Wilson has finished second in the nation (Division II) for the past five years.