Illini Track & Field Adds Brandon Hon as an Assistant Coach
August 19, 2021 | Women's Track & Field, Men's Track & Field
News
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois track and field head coach Mike Turk announced the addition of assistant coach Brandon Hon on Thursday (August 19). Hon will coach sprint hurdles and relays.
"Coach Hon's credentials on paper are outstanding," said Turk. "He has been recognized as one of the top coaches in the country, but once we sat down and talked, it was obvious that he is so much more. Great coach, teacher, communicator. High character, professional and just a great energy and vision for development. I am excited to see Coach Hon mentor our student-athletes to new heights and cannot wait to welcome Brandon, his wife Grace, and their children Zachary and Dya to the community."
Hon comes to Illinois following a two-years stint at Texas A&M. During the 2021 season, Hon coached his student-athletes to seven outdoor All-American honors, two indoor All-American accolades and four outdoor All-SEC awards. Most notably, Hon's 4x100m relay team finished seventh at the NCAA Championships (39.13) and recorded the fastest NCAA West Regional qualifying time of 38.93, while also having both the men's and women's 4x100m relays qualify for the NCAA Championships as well as four individual sprinters, including two hurdlers.
In his first season with the Aggies, Hon made an immediate impact on the recruiting trail landing top graduate transfer Summer Thorpe (Notre Dame). He also recruited one of Texas' top high school sprinters in Laila Owens.
"I am grateful to coach Turk and the University of Illinois athletics administration team for the opportunity to help our student-athletes in their pursuit of excellence on and off the track," said Hon. "I look forward to getting started with a great staff and a great community in Urbana-Champaign."
Prior to Texas A&M, Hon spent seven seasons at Florida State as the Director of Sprints, Hurdles and Relays. His core group of athletes, which included women's sprinters and all hurdlers, were instrumental in delivering Florida State 12 ACC team titles, with seven conference titles for the men and five for the women.
Within his time as an assistant coach in Tallahassee, the women's program produced five top-20 NCAA Outdoor Championship finishes, including their second top-10 finish in 2019. Athletes coached by Hon generated 30 All-Americans with 19 first-team honors, 16 ACC event champions, six program records and three ACC records.
Coaching accolades for Hon include the USTFCCCA South Region Women's Indoor Assistant Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2019.
Athletes coached by Hon who earned ACC honors included Shauna Helps (2016) and Ka'Tia Seymour (2018) each being recognized as Women's Outdoor Freshman of the Year, Trey Cunningham (2018) being named indoor and outdoor Men's Freshman of the year, along with Seymour claiming ACC Championship Track MVP twice indoors (2018, 2019) and once outdoors (2019).
Prior to joining Florida State, Hon spent 13 years at the University of Cincinnati as a record-setting student-athlete as well as an assistant coach. The Cincinnati native spent seven years as a full-time assistant with the Bearcats, directing hurdlers and sprinters, while serving as the recruiting coordinator for his final two years.
Hon enjoyed a record-setting collegiate experience as a hurdler with the Bearcats, setting the 60-meter hurdles record and winning the 2001 Conference USA title in the 400 hurdles as the team MVP. He also qualified for the 2004 and 2008 US Olympic Trials.
A 2002 Cincinnati graduate with a degree in criminal justice, he is married to the former Grace Murdock. They are the proud parents of a son, Zachary, and daughter, Dya.
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