Kaytianna Kell, the 2020 Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association Division II Assistant Coach of the Year, joins the UC Davis women's gymnastics staff, head coach John Lavallee announced Tuesday. Kell, formerly Kaytianna McMillan, most recently coached at Seattle Pacific.

Kell's coaching career began at her alma mater, where she served as recruiting coordinator and mentored the balance beam squad. The Beavers finished sixth at the NCAA Championships for their best national finish since 1996, while Maela Lazara captured second-team All-America accolades on beam under Kell's tutelage. 

A year later, she was hired as an assistant coach under Sarah Jean Marshall at SPU, one of UC Davis' leaguemates in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. In the Falcons' final season, they compiled a national-qualifying score of 192.745, the program's highest in four seasons. Two-time All-American Darian Burns posted the school's No. 2 all-around score of 39.375 and tied the school vault record of 9.900.

Originally from Coburg, Oregon, Kell enjoyed an outstanding career at nearby OSU. She qualified for the NCAA regionals as a freshman and senior, and garnered five total All-Pac-12 Conference honors, including first-team distinction on floor exercise and all-around in 2017. In Kell's senior season, she won the floor and all-around titles at the Champaign Regional, then added a 9.900 at the national meet to claim second-team All-America status. Overall, she hit 51 of 52 routines that year, scored 26 overall event wins and landed the first 10.0 by an OSU gymnast in almost a decade. Kell was honored as the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year and named to the final ballot of the AAI Award, which is presented to the top senior gymnast in the country. 

In the classroom, Kell earned NACGC/W (now WCGA) Scholastic All-America acclaim in each of her four seasons, snared three Pac-12 All-Academic nods, and helped Oregon State compile the No. 10 GPA in the nation as a senior. She graduated in 2017 with a degree in human development and family science.

In joining the Aggie staff, Kell replaces another WCGA-honored assistant coach, Jessa Hansen, who returned to her alma mater of Iowa in October. Her arrival also completes Lavallee's staff, following the return of Tanya Ho in July. UC Davis won the MPSF regular-season title with a 194.715 NQS last winter, with its season cut short due to the COVID outbreak.

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