Rockwall-Heath has hired Dawnielle Kiel as the new head girls basketball coach, bringing a resume built on state-championship experience to a Lady Hawks program that went 12-21 last season.

The hire is a big swing.

Rockwall ISD announced the move on social media in late July, calling Kiel a coach with 10 years of experience. The Rockwall Herald Banner first reported details of her background.

Kiel spent the past three seasons as the founding head coach at Prosper Walnut Grove, a new Prosper ISD campus. In 2025-26, her Lady Wildcats went 34-6, ran the table in District 9-5A at 14-0 and made the program's first-ever postseason run, reaching the Class 5A Division I state semifinals before falling to Denton Ryan, 40-28. That playoff push included wins over Lufkin, Frisco Heritage, Sunset and Frisco Emerson.

Before taking the Walnut Grove job, Kiel served as an assistant under three-time state champion Ross Reedy at Frisco Liberty High School. She was part of the coaching staff for Liberty's Class 5A state titles in the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons, helping develop players like McDonald's All-American Jacy Abii.

"I think we have a good core group of kids," Kiel told the Dallas Morning News in February about building at Walnut Grove. "Our middle school has some really talented kids, and being able to get those kids young, because now we have a bunch of juniors and seniors, has really helped. ... I think we have a good batch coming up the pipeline as well."

Kiel now inherits a Heath program where the Lady Hawks finished 1-11 in District 10-6A play last season, their worst district mark in recent memory. The previous head coach, Chris Anderson, led the program from at least 2022-23 through 2024-25, including a 20-14 campaign in 2023-24.

Kiel played two seasons at Texas State University in San Marcos before earning a bachelor's degree in exercise science. She started her coaching career at the middle school level, working at Murchison Middle School and Ereckson Middle School before moving to the high school ranks.

At Walnut Grove, Kiel also coached 2025-26 UIL All-State selection Finley Chastain, a four-star junior guard and Oklahoma pledge who averaged 14.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.

UIL Class 6A girls basketball tips off in November, giving Kiel roughly three months to install her system before the Lady Hawks open the 2026-27 season.