Kendall Rainey, PhD, has been a part of Highland Cavalier athletics for almost a quarter of a century, first as a player (2001-05), then as a coach (2009-12), and an administrator (2012-present). Since June, 2017, she has been the institution's Director of Athletics.
During her tenure as the Director of Athletics the school has made the transition from the Mountain East to the South Atlantic Conference; added the track and field programs; upgraded or modernized athletics facilities; and updated and streamlined athletic administration to better oversee the academic, athletic, and personal development of the student-athletes. She has also sat on several national and conference committees, including a recent stint on the NCAA Division II Softball Committee.
Prior to being promoted to the Director of Athletics position, Rainey served as the Associate Director of Athletics for Academics and Student-Athlete Success from 2012-17 in addition to being the school's Senior Woman Administrator during this period. In that role, she helped guide and manage student-athlete's academic progress as well as coordinated the community engagement and educational programming for the athletic department. She was on the administrative team that managed UVA Wise's transition from the NAIA's Mid-South Conference to the NCAA Division II's Mountain East Conference. She was also the Tournament Director when the UVA Wise softball team hosted a NCAA Regional in 2017.
Rainey was a softball and volleyball standout at Patrick Henry High School in Glade Spring, Virginia, before being recruited by Coach Wayne Leftwich to make the short journey to Wise and play both sports.
In volleyball, she led the team to a 66-43 overall and a 49-20 record. The team's 17-2 Appalachian Athletic Conference record in 2004 ranks as the best conference record in program history. For her career she had 255 kills; 3,431 assists; 137 aces; and 819 digs. She is the school's career leader in assists. She was named All-AAC multiple times and to the All-Region XII Tournament team.
In softball she was a standout player and helped lead the team to three AAC titles (2002, 2004, 2005) their first national tournament appearance in 2005. Rainey was a four-time All-AAC selection, a three-time All-Region XII honoree, the 2005 Region XII Player of the Year, the AAC's softball Champion of Character, and a two-time National Strength and Conditioning Association All-American. She finished her softball career with a .358 batting average, 203 hits, 157 runs scored, and 87 stolen bases.
Rainey was named to the UVA Wise Hall of Fame in 2014.
After graduating from UVA Wise with a degree in business administration, Rainey earned a master's degree in sport management from the University of Tennessee where she also spent two years as a manager on the Lady Vol softball team and two years as the team's Director of Operations. During her time in Knoxville the softball team won the Southeastern Conference championship in 2006 and made appearances in the Women's College World Series in 2006 and 2007. She also completed her Ph.D. in sport studies from Tennessee in 2013.
She is a native of Glade Spring, Virginia.
