High School Director
tkeyes@riseabovebasketball.com
Tommy Keyes is in his inaugural year as High School director while also coaching the 10th and Varsity teams alongside Founder/CEO Brendan Carter. Keyes serves as an Assistant Coach at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he is in his 6th season. The Corsairs have played in back to back Little East Conference Championships, and in 2020-2021 they were Regular Season and Tournament Champions. He joined the staff after being named Captain his Junior and Senior campaign and would have been named a 3rd time had he returned to the team as a player. Keyes played at UMass Dartmouth for 3 semesters after spending 3 semesters at Salve Regina, totaling 59 games. His college career was cut short after he played his Junior season with a torn meniscus and missed out on immediate medical attention following the season. His teams were able to make appearances in the CCC Semifinals, ECAC Tournament, as well as the Little East Semifinal and Championship games. High school playing days were the most successful for Keyes; he spent his Freshman year at Bishop Stang where he saw action in 12 regular season games and both playoff games before transferring. Keyes transferred to Bishop Connolly in Fall River, Ma where he finished 2nd All Time in scoring with 1,351 points in 3 years. The Cougars won a State Championship in his Senior season in which he was also named the winner of the prestigious Dave Cowens Achievement Award, which is presented to the best basketball player in the area; it also includes academics and community outreach. He was named conference MVP all 3 seasons at Bishop Connolly. Keyes is now a teacher in the New Bedford Public Schools system while also being involved in many local basketball camps and community outreach programs. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Over the summer, Keyes is also a basketball trainer at Next Level Factory in South Dartmouth, Ma. He takes pride in developing young athletes’ skills on the court while teaching life lessons through the game. Keyes has worked with athletes of all ages: from instructional to middle school and high school to college athletes of both genders to NCAA Division I and pro athletes.
