Cleo Hill, Jr.

Biography

Cleo Hill, Jr. has served as the head men's basketball coach at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore since June of 2024. In his first year at UMES, Hill assembled one of the toughest schedules in the country with contests against Illinois, Arkansas, Vanderbilt and defending national champion UConn. While focusing on developing the program in the first year, Hill was able to raise funds to dramatically improve the program's locker rooms and add additional resources for the student-athletes. A veteran coach, Hill came to UMES with 17 seasons of head coaching experience along with a variety of assistant coaching roles and an impressive collegiate playing career at North Carolina Central University. Hill spent the previous six seasons as the head coach of the Rams at Winston-Salem State University, leading them to multiple CIAA championships, NCAA tournament appearances, and earning CIAA Coach of the Year honors. Prior to WSSU, Hill served as head coach at Shaw University for seven seasons (2008-2015), compiling a 116-67 record and achieving a 27-4 season in 2011-2012 with an undefeated CIAA regular season. His head coaching career began at Cheyney University (2003-2008). Before becoming a head coach, Hill held assistant coaching positions at Shaw University, the University of Nebraska, Mount Zion Christian Academy (where he coached future NBA Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady), and Orange High School. Hill is a graduate of North Carolina Central University where he earned South At