Cupini Announces Addition of Assistant Coach Trio

The Tennessee rowing program made three additions to its coaching staff Wednesday, as Karly Braun, Colleen Gillis and MJ Keys were announced as assistant coaches by head coach Kim Cupini.

"We are thrilled to be bringing in three extremely talented assistant coaches," Cupini said. "Each of them are experienced leaders who are committed to making this program a consistent top performer at the NCAA Championships."

No stranger to Rocky Top, Braun served as a graduate assistant for two seasons with the Lady Vols from 2015-17. Since then, she spent six years at Wisconsin, where she began as the lightweight women's freshmen coach before being promoted to assistant coach ahead of the 2020-21 campaign. In addition to her coaching duties, she also acted as the Badgers' recruiting coordinator.

During her first stint with Tennessee rowing, Braun created a mental training program, coached the novice program and helped with boat maintenance. She was also involved in on-campus recruiting and marketing of the team. While at UT, Braun competed her masters in kinesiology, focusing on sport psychology and motor behavior.

"I'm really excited to be back on Rocky Top," Braun said. "Since leaving after my graduate studies, I knew I wanted to come back and help make this program a powerhouse. With Kim's leadership and the rest of our staff, I really believe we will make Tennessee Rowing big time."

Prior to Tennessee, Braun spent six months as assistant junior rowing coach at The King's School in Canterbury, United Kingdom, where she organized travel and training camps and organized the school's King's Invitational Match Regatta, in addition to her coaching duties.

"We are incredibly fortunate to be able to bring a coach of Karly's caliber to our team and back to Tennessee," Cupini said. "Karly returns to Rocky Top after serving as the graduate assistant from 2015-17. Her degree, experience, and knowledge in mental health training allows her to understand what it takes to drive and sustain an elite team culture."

The Corvallis, Oregon, native rowed at Oregon State during her time as an undergraduate from 2009 through 2013, then spent the 2013-14 season as an undergraduate assistant coach for the Beavers, coaching the team's novice eight. She also coached a year with the Masters Corvallis Rowing Club in 2013-14 and was involved with U.S. junior national team rowing camps in 2016.

Gillis arrives on Rocky Top having served as a graduate assistant for one season under Cupini at SMU, helping lead the Mustangs' surge to a ninth-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Rowing Championship and a sweep at the AAC Championship.

"I feel incredibly fortunate to be joining the Rocky Top family," Gillis said. "I believe that Kim's commitment to excellence on and off the water, combined with the talented incoming staff, sets the stage for a new era of Tennessee Rowing. I am thrilled to get to work and to help build Tennessee Rowing into a powerhouse team."

In her one year on staff at SMU, Gillis aided the Mustangs to a wealth of success. The Varsity 8 recorded its best finish, having an outstanding finish to win the Petite Final and place seventh in the country. SMU advanced all three boats to the A/B semifinals at the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history and finished the Championship with 85 points—the most ever for SMU and highest finish by an AAC program. The Mustangs ended the year ranked No. 9 in the Pocock CRCA Coaches Poll, which marked the highest ranking in team history.

A former student-athlete for the Mustangs, Gillis was a member of the SMU rowing team from 2017-21. As the Mustangs' coxswain of the 1V8+ boat in 2020 and 2021, Gillis' senior campaign at SMU in 2021 saw her cox the 1V8+ boat that finished 13th overall in its class at the program's first trip to the NCAA Championships.

"Colleen was a tremendous collegiate coxswain and has carried that into her coaching over the last few years," Cupini said. "She has proven her ability to connect with the student-athletes and it has been impressive to see her develop exceptional coxswains. Inspiring those coxswains and other rowers at Tennessee will help us foster a cohesive and synchronized team dynamic."

Prior to that, the Mustangs won the program's first AAC Championship as Gillis' 1V8+ boat logged a first-place finish in 2021, being named the AAC 1V8+ Boat of the Year that season. Gillis was named to the All-AAC First Team.

After graduating from SMU, she spent a season as an assistant coach and coxswain coach at Treasure Coast Rowing Club in Stuart, Florida, before returning to the Hilltop as graduate assistant in the fall of 2022.

A native of Freehold, N.J., Gillis earned her bachelor's degree in applied physiology and sport management from SMU in 2021 and earned her master's in sport management in 2023.

Keys arrives on Rocky Top having spent five seasons as an assistant coach on Cupini's SMU staff. Along with sending all three boats to the A/B semifinals for the first time in program history at the 2023 NCAA Championships, SMU's 1v8 had the best boat finish in SMU history with a first-place finish in the petite finals. The Mustangs' ninth-place finish at the NCAA Championships was the best showing ever by an AAC program.

"I am incredibly grateful to have been given the opportunity to help build an amazing program here at Tennessee with Kim and the entire staff," Keys said. "With rowing facilities that are world class, and having the support from an already exceptionally successful athletic department, we are eager and ready to push this program to its full potential."

In 2022, SMU swept all four races at the AAC Championship and the Mustangs went on to finish 12th overall at the NCAA Championships with the 1V8+ in 11th, 2V8+ in 10th and the V4+ winning the C final for 13th. The second varsity eight was named AAC Boat of the Year, and the coaching staff won AAC Staff of the Year. SMU tallied eight All-AAC honorees with five first-team selections that season. In addition, three Mustangs were named Pocock CRCA All-Americans.

During the 2021 campaign, Keys helped the Mustangs earn their first conference title after winning all three races at the AAC Championship. The program earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history. SMU's first varsity eight was named the AAC Boat of the Year, with eight Mustangs earning all-conference nods. SMU capped the 2021 season by finishing 13th in the NCAA Championships

In her second season, SMU defeated Alabama by over 12 seconds in the first varsity eight during the Mustangs' first event of the 2020 spring slate, before the remainder of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keys' first season in Dallas saw SMU win the conference championship in the first varsity eight in 2019. SMU was the only program to place in the top three of all six events at the AAC Championship, finishing second overall. Four Mustangs earned All-AAC recognition, with the coaching staff bringing home the 2019 AAC Staff of the Year award. SMU's first varsity eight was the 2019 AAC Boat of the Year.

"MJ has been instrumental in our recruiting and coaching over the last five years," Cupini said. "We have worked together closely and I could not be more excited that she is adding to our staff with her international experience and race experience in multiple sports. Her knowledge of training from years in the sport will be extremely impactful to our student-athletes."

Prior to joining Cupini's staff at SMU, Keys was an assistant coach at Christchurch Boys High School in New Zealand alongside her twin brother, head coach Logan Keys.

CBHS earned national championships in the novice eight and novice four in 2018 while also capturing national titles in the U17 single, double and quad. The team also captured national championships in the U18 pair, quad and four and a Maadi Cup title in the U18 eight in 2018.

Keys began her collegiate rowing career at Clemson during the 2012 season. As a freshman, she logged a pair of first-place finishes, with the second varsity 8+ and first varsity 4+.

After transferring to San Diego to row for Cupini, Keys competed with the varsity 8+ in each race as the No. 8 seat, helping the Toreros win the 2014 WCC Championship. That season also saw San Diego place 15th at the NCAA Championships, the program's first-ever appearance at the postseason event. Keys would go on to earn All-WCC honors as a senior in 2015.

A native of Christchurch, New Zealand, Keys earned her B.A. in philosophy from San Diego in 2015.

University of Tennessee Athletics

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