PLYMOUTH – This week Clay Hilliard, made it official that he will be continuing his education and basketball career at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Mount Vernon, OH.“I liked them a lot on my visit and coach Ronai is the kind of coach I want to play for,” said Clay. “I feel like I’m going to learn from him not just on the court but off the court. His faith is very strong. I really liked all the guys, I met them on my visit there.”
“It’s something I feel like I want to be a part of. I think they are doing something special. That’s what I want.”
It wasn’t an easy choice.
“There were seven other school I visited and I liked a lot of them,” said Hilliard. “Mount Vernon stood out to me and that’s why I chose them.”
Clay is the son of Scott and Traci Hilliard and is planning to major in Sports Management or Education with an emphasis on coaching. He currently is ranked 63rd in his class of 288 students. He has a GPA of 3.62.
“My main goal is that I want to get into coaching,” said Clay. “I’d like to coach at the college level but I have thought about being a teacher and a coach at the high school level as well.”
Clay has played tennis and the basketball for four years at Plymouth.
Mount Vernon Nazarene is an NAIA Division II school, and a member of the Crossroads League that includes Bethel College, Indiana Wesleyan University, Marian College, Goshen College, Huntington University, Spring Arbor University, Grace College, Taylor University, and the University of Saint Francis.
They are currently 9-1 and rated number 6 in the NAIA national coaches poll.
