Dusty Nickles is in his third season as an assistant coach for Mike Mincey's club after starting in 2021-22. 

“We are extremely excited to add Dusty to our coaching staff,” Mincey said. “I’ve known Dusty for a long time and feel like he will add another dimension to our program. Dusty, like most of our players, is a local guy and is as familiar with our program as anybody and already understands what we are about and what we are trying to accomplish. His transition into this role will be seamless with his knowledge of our current players as well as those we are currently recruiting. Being married to a former Lady Eagle, Whitney Kyle, he understands our style of play and how we go about doing things. We look forward to getting things going in the next few weeks.”

Nickles was promoted to lead assistant in 2023-24 after his first two seasons on the Lady Eagles bench. 

In his three seasons on the bench, C-N has a 68-28 record and is 37-5 at home. 

He has helped coach five different players to all-conference seasons headlined by Braelyn Wykle who has been a fixture on the All-Region and All-American teams.

The Jefferson County native has been coaching youth and high school basketball for over a decade most recently as the head assistant at Lakeway Christian Academy under Curtis Staples. He was the head coach of a TN Trotters 16U exposure team during the spring and summer sessions.

Since 2012 he has been a part of the TN Trotters AAU organization founded by Jeff Kyle. The Trotters have played a major role in the development of girl’s basketball in the East Tennessee area. Nickles has directly contributed to that over the last 10 years where he has coached, assisted and trained countless young women in their pursuit of playing college basketball.

“I would like to thank Coach Mincey, and the administration, for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this incredible program,” Nickles said. “It’s an honor to be able to contribute to the culture and standards that coach Mincey and coach Burstrom have developed over these last few years. I am also extremely excited to serve our student-athletes and help them grow both on and off the court. Talons Up!”

He is married to former Lady Eagle, Whitney Nickles (Kyle). They have two children Jax (6), and Maverick (3). They live in Talbott and attend Grace Community Church. Whitney played two seasons at Mossy Creek after transferring from Morehead State.