Appalachian Figures Series – The Story of Kelly “King” Coleman of Floyd, Kentucky
Kelly Olen Coleman was born on September 21, 1938, and died on June 16, 2019. In between those dates, the boy from Wayland became one of the most remembered athletes ever produced by the mountains of eastern Kentucky. His obituary called him Kentucky’s first Mr. Basketball and a true legend in the state’s basketball heritage, but in Floyd County and across the old 15th Region, he was known by a shorter name: “King” Kelly Coleman.
Coleman played for Wayland High School, whose teams were known as the Wasps. Wayland was not a large place, but in the 1950s its gym became one of Kentucky basketball’s most storied rooms. Later accounts from the KHSAA and Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame make clear that Coleman’s reputation was not just local pride. He became a statewide figure while still a teenager, the kind of player people traveled mountain roads to see.
Wayland and the Making of a Legend
Coleman’s high school career came before the three point line, before modern recruiting coverage, and before the internet made every great performance instantly visible. That makes the numbers even harder to imagine. The KHSAA record book lists Coleman with 4,337 career points at Wayland from 1953 to 1956. For decades, that number stood as the greatest boys high school scoring total in Kentucky history. It remained the standard until Lyon County’s Travis Perry passed it in the 2023 Sweet 16.
His senior season was one of the most overwhelming seasons any Kentucky high school player has ever produced. The KHSAA boys basketball record book lists Coleman with 1,734 points in 1956, and also records his 46.8 points per game average for the 1955 to 1956 season. Those numbers were not built by long distance three pointers. They came through constant scoring pressure, free throws, rebounding, and repeated nights when Wayland’s offense ran through one teenage star.
The record book also preserves some of the single game performances that made Coleman’s name feel almost mythical. It lists his 75 point game against Maytown in 1956 and his 68 point game against Bell County that same year. It also records 31 field goals against Maytown and 52 field goal attempts against Bell County. Those statistics show both his scoring ability and the extraordinary burden he carried for Wayland.
The 1956 Sweet Sixteen
Coleman’s defining stage was the 1956 KHSAA Sweet Sixteen. The tournament record book, which KHSAA describes as an official publication compiled from news clippings, box scores, and official tournament archives, still places his name across the individual record pages. In that tournament, Coleman scored 68 points against Bell County, 50 points against Shelbyville, and 185 points across the tournament.
The 185 point tournament total remains one of the clearest reasons the 1956 Sweet Sixteen is often remembered as “King Kelly’s Tournament.” KHSAA records also list Coleman with 27 field goals in a Sweet Sixteen game, 14 field goals in one half, 69 field goals in the tournament, and 47 free throws in the tournament. The Kentucky Historical Society’s profile of Coleman also highlights his 28 rebound game and states that Wayland finished third in the 1956 KHSAA tournament.
Wayland did not win the state championship, but Coleman’s performance became larger than the bracket. The Lexington Herald-Leader later described Wayland’s semifinal loss to Carr Creek as a 68 to 67 game decided on a last second shot, and it noted that Coleman’s 68 points against Bell County came in the third place game. In a tournament remembered for drama, his scoring turned a Floyd County team into a permanent part of Kentucky basketball memory.
Kentucky’s First Mr. Basketball
Coleman’s senior year ended with one of the most important honors in Kentucky high school sports. In 1956, he became Kentucky’s first Mr. Basketball. The Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame also notes that he was a two time All-Stater and a Dell Sports Magazine First Team All-American. The award gave formal recognition to what crowds in eastern Kentucky already knew: Coleman was not just a local star. He was a statewide figure.
That recognition followed him for the rest of his life. In 2008, the Kentucky Senate adopted Senate Resolution 227 by voice vote, honoring Coleman as Kentucky’s first Mr. Basketball and a high school basketball legend. More than sixty years after his playing days, WYMT reported that Coleman was presented with a Mr. Basketball trophy in 2018, correcting a long delay in giving him the physical symbol of the honor he had won in 1956.
From Wayland to Kentucky Wesleyan
Coleman’s basketball life continued at Kentucky Wesleyan College, where he remained a major scorer. Kentucky Wesleyan’s athletics Hall of Fame profile lists him as a two time All-American, says his jersey number 45 was retired, and records him with 2,077 career points and 904 rebounds. The same profile credits him with the school’s season scoring record of 848 points and a 30.3 average.
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference, using Kentucky Wesleyan sports information, also described Coleman as a Kentucky Wesleyan legend. It noted that he finished third in the nation in scoring during his senior year in 1960, was voted to Kentucky Wesleyan’s All-Century Team by fans, and was drafted in the second round by the New York Knicks. His high school legend was born in Wayland, but his college record made clear that the talent traveled.
Memory, Recognition, and Home
Coleman’s story lasted because it belonged to more than a box score. When KHSAA writer Mike Fields covered a 2019 gathering for Coleman at the Wayland Historical Community Center and Mountain Sports Hall of Fame, he described people coming from across Kentucky to honor him. Former players and coaches remembered not only the records, but the way his name carried weight in the mountains. Gary West, who wrote a book about Coleman, said at that gathering that Coleman belonged not only to Wayland or Floyd County, but to the whole state of Kentucky.
That same KHSAA article also noted efforts to restore the Wayland gym and preserve the legacies of Coleman and the Wayland Wasps. The building, according to the article, had stood since 1937 and was one of the oldest high school gyms in Kentucky. That detail matters because Coleman’s story is also a place story. It is about a player, but it is also about a town, a gym, a school, and a region that saw itself in him.
The Passing of King Kelly
Kelly Coleman died on June 16, 2019, at age 80. His obituary named his wife, Ann Watkins Coleman, as his high school sweetheart, wife, and best friend, and listed children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, sisters, friends, and other family members who survived him. The visitation was held at the Wayland High School Gym on King Kelly Coleman Highway, a fitting return for a man whose name had become inseparable from that place.
The Kentucky Senate also honored him after his death. Senate Resolution 6 in 2019 remembered Coleman as the player who led the Wayland Wasps to a 1956 Sweet 16 appearance, earned recognition as Kentucky’s first Mr. Basketball, set many high school records, and later played at Kentucky Wesleyan College. It closed by offering sympathy to his family, friends, and community.
Why Kelly Coleman Still Matters
The story of Kelly “King” Coleman is not only a basketball story. It is one of the clearest examples of how a small Appalachian school could become part of statewide memory through one extraordinary figure. Coleman played in a time when mountain teams could carry the hopes of entire communities into Lexington, and when the Sweet Sixteen placed small towns and city schools on the same floor.
Wayland did not need to be large for Coleman’s legend to become large. His records made him famous, but the way people remembered him made him permanent. In Floyd County, he remained the boy from Wayland who became a king. In Kentucky basketball history, he remained the standard that generations of great players had to measure themselves against.
Sources & Further Reading
KHSAA. Boys’ Sweet 16® Basketball Record Book. Lexington, KY: Kentucky High School Athletic Association. https://khsaa.org/records/basketball/bbk-recordbook_sweet16records.pdf
KHSAA. KHSAA Record Book: Boys’ Basketball. Lexington, KY: Kentucky High School Athletic Association. https://khsaa.org/records/recordbook/BBKCompleteRecords.pdf
Fields, Mike. “Kelly Coleman Still the ‘King’ of Kentucky High School Basketball.” Kentucky High School Athletic Association, March 22, 2019. https://khsaa.org/kelly-coleman-still-the-king-of-kentucky-high-school-basketball/
Kentucky Historical Society. “Profile: ‘King’ Kelly Coleman.” Legislative Moments. Frankfort, KY: Kentucky Historical Society. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/LegislativeMoments/Moments18RS/web/legislative%20moment%2030.pdf
Kentucky General Assembly. Senate Resolution 227: A Resolution Honoring the First Kentucky Mr. Basketball, High School Basketball Legend “King” Kelly Coleman. 2008 Regular Session. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/08rs/sr227.html
Kentucky General Assembly. Senate Resolution 6: A Resolution Adjourning the Senate in Honor and Loving Memory of “King” Kelly Coleman. 2019 Special Session. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/19SS/sr6/bill.pdf
Hall Funeral Home. “Obituary for King Kelly Olen Coleman.” Hall Funeral Home. https://www.hallfuneralservice.com/obituary/KingKelly-Coleman
Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics. “Kelly Coleman.” Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics Hall of Fame. https://kwcpanthers.com/honors/hall-of-fame/kelly-coleman/14
Kentucky Wesleyan College. 2008–09 Men’s Basketball Media Guide. Owensboro, KY: Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics, 2008. https://static.kwcpanthers.com/custompages/mbkb/2009mensmediaguide.pdf
Great Midwest Athletic Conference. “KWC Legend ‘King Kelly’ Coleman Headed to HOF.” Great Midwest Athletic Conference, July 13, 2012. https://greatmidwestsports.com/news/2012/7/24/MBB_0724122112.aspx
Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame. “‘King’ Kelly Coleman.” Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame. https://khsbhf.com/inductee/king-kelly-coleman/
Moore, Josh. “‘King’ Kelly Coleman, Kentucky’s First Mr. Basketball and All-Time Leading Scorer, Dies.” Lexington Herald-Leader, June 16, 2019. https://www.kentucky.com/sports/high-school/prep-basketball/article231614368.html
WYMT. “More Than 60 Years Later, ‘King’ Kelly Coleman Receives His Mr. Basketball Trophy.” WYMT, May 24, 2018. https://www.wymt.com/content/sports/King–483655241.html
WYMT. “Community Remembers King Kelly Coleman as Basketball Legend, Community Leader.” WYMT, June 21, 2019. https://www.wymt.com/content/news/Community-remembers-King-Kelly-Coleman-as-basketball-legend-businessman-and-community-leader-511640202.html
Walker, Alex. “Kentucky Legend ‘King’ Kelly Coleman Dies at the Age of 80.” WKYT, June 16, 2019. https://www.wkyt.com/content/news/Kentucky-legend-King-Kelly-Coleman-dies-at-the-age-of-80-511385701.html
Kennedy, Bryan. “Kentucky High School Basketball Great ‘King’ Kelly Coleman Dies.” WTVQ, June 17, 2019. https://www.wtvq.com/kentucky-high-school-basketball-great-king-kelly-coleman-dies/
LEX 18. “High School Legend ‘King’ Kelly Coleman Dies at Age 80.” LEX 18, June 16, 2019. https://www.lex18.com/sports/2019/06/17/high-school-legend-king-kelly-coleman-dies-at-age-80/
Flairty, Steve. “Kentucky by Heart: Celebrating the Full Life of Wayland Native, Kentucky Sweet 16 Legend ‘King’ Kelly Coleman.” Northern Kentucky Tribune, March 17, 2026. https://nkytribune.com/2026/03/kentucky-by-heart-celebrating-the-full-life-of-wayland-native-kentucky-sweet-16-legend-king-kelly-coleman/
West, Gary P. King Kelly Coleman: Kentucky’s Greatest Basketball Legend. Acclaim Press. https://www.acclaimpress.com/books/king-kelly-coleman-kentuckys-greatest-basketball-legend-new-expanded-edition/
Basketball-Reference. “Kelly Coleman Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and More.” Basketball-Reference.com. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/colemke01.html
Sports Reference. “Kelly Coleman College Stats.” Sports-Reference.com College Basketball. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/kelly-coleman-1.html
RealGM. “1960 NBA Draft Recap.” RealGM. https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/past_drafts/1960
Author Note: Kelly “King” Coleman’s story is one of those mountain stories where the numbers almost sound impossible until the records back them up. I wanted to write this as both a basketball story and a Floyd County memory story, because Wayland helped make the legend as much as Coleman did.