MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University gymnastics coach Jason Butts announced today the hiring of Kaylyn Millick as an assistant coach and Caleigh Shaffer as director of operations.
 
Millick returns to Morgantown after serving as the Mountaineers' assistant from 2015-17. Shaffer was the team's graduate assistant last season.
 
"Filling our assistant coach position and adding a director of operations position is huge for our program," Butts said. "Kaylyn and Caleigh are the absolute right people for these jobs."
 
A three-year letterwinner at WVU from 2011-13, Millick, a native of Washington, Pennsylvania, most recently coached the Mountaineers in 2017. WVU finished 12-8 that year, including a 3-3 showing against Big 12 Conference opponents, and placed third at the 2017 NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships with a program-record 196.325 score. The Mountaineers finished the season ranked No. 20 in the Road to Nationals Rankings.
 
Also in 2017, a pair of Mountaineers claimed All-America honors. Zaakira Muhammad advanced to the NCAA National Championships in the all-around and finished eighth on floor exercise, earning All-America Second Team accolades. Additionally, then-sophomore Kirah Koshinski claimed her second of three career NACGC/W Regular Season All-America Second Team Vault honor.
 
"We're excited to welcome Kaylyn back to the program," Butts said. "She was an incredible student-athlete and contributor to WVU gymnastics when she was a gymnast, and she followed that with a successful first stint as a coach with the Mountaineers. We're excited to have back the spark she brings to practice and competition. Kaylyn is essential in our journey to put this program on the national stage."   
 
"I'm really excited to rejoin the WVU gymnastics program," Millick said. "Gymnastics has always been a part of my life. I always have had the WVU gymnastics team and the student-athletes in the back of my mind. I have a passion for this sport, Morgantown and West Virginia University. I'm ready to roll, and I'm excited for this team's future."
 
Millick was instrumental in the program's progress in 2016, her second season with the team. She helped guide the squad back into the national rankings, and the Mountaineers spent six of the last nine weeks of the season ranked, the team's first national ranking since March 18, 2013. The squad also earned scores of 195.0 or better in 11 straight contests and finished with an 11-8 overall record (1-5 Big 12).
 
Millick also helped coach Koshinski to NACGC/W All-America Second Team accolades on vault, as well as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honor and All-Big 12 Gymnastics Vault Team and All-Big 12 Championship Team accolades.
 
In her first season with the Mountaineers, Millick helped guide WVU to a fifth-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships. The squad posted a 195.65 mark, the third-best program score at a regional championships. Additionally, WVU earned a program regional-record score of 49.225 on beam.
 
Also in 2015, the Mountaineers earned a program best, second-place finish at the Big 12 Gymnastics Championship, scoring 195.025. Dayah Haley earned her second straight All-Big 12 Championship Team honor with a second-place finish in the all-around. WVU earned 11 scores of 9.9 or better, six on floor, with Haley tallying a season-best 9.95.
 
Millick served as a student assistant in 2014 and helped guide senior Hope Sloanhoffer to a 2014 NCAA National Championships bid as an all-around competitor, the Mountaineers' first qualification since 2009. Sloanhoffer finished the season as the NCAA Athens Regional Championship beam champion and the Big 12 all-around champion, the program's first Big 12 title winner.
 
An all-around competitor who transferred from Eastern Michigan after the 2010 season and found a home at WVU, Millick tallied 1,290.3 points in three years as a Mountaineer and saw time in 38 meets. She ended her career ranked ninth in the program record book with 12 career scores of 39.0 or better. She also ranked 20th all-time with eight career scores of 9.9 or better, six of which came on floor, the 10th-best total in program history.
 
As a senior in 2013, Millick earned the Linda Burdette-Good Award as the team's Most Valuable Gymnast. The first-ever Mountaineer to earn a spot on the All-Big 12 Championship Team (all-around), she reached the podium a team-best 23 times and scored career-best marks on vault (9.85), bars (9.9), beam (9.875), floor (9.95) and the all-around (39.4). She finished second in the all-around at the Big 12 Championships with a 39.2 score and finished the season ranked No. 27 nationally in the all-around with a 39.3 regional qualifying score (RQS).
 
A four-time All-EAGL honoree, Millick led the Mountaineers to the 2012 East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) Championship as a junior.
 
Millick competed as an all-around gymnast at Eastern Michigan in 2010, and at the time of her transfer, she ranked eighth (39.0) on the EMU all-time all-around scores list and ninth (9.85) on the EMU all-time beam score list. The squad's top all-arounder as a freshman, she individually qualified for the NCAA Central Regional Championships and was nominated for the MAC Gymnast and Freshman of the Year Awards.
 
In addition to her athletic achievements, Millick was a two-time NACGC/W Scholastic All-American and All-EAGL Academic Team member. She was named to the 2013 Academic All-Big 12 Gymnastics Team and also earned a spot on the President's List, Dean's List, Big 12 Commissioner's and Garrett Ford Academic Honor Rolls while at WVU.
 
Millick was a two-time national qualifier at Gym Dandy's in Washington.
 
Millick earned her bachelor's degree in exercise and physiology at WVU in May 2014.
 
In her new role, Shaffer, a native of Radford, Virginia, will oversee administrative duties for the program and manage all home meets. She will serve as the office manager and will coordinate the team's daily schedule and team travel. Shaffer also will work closely with NCAA compliance.
 
"I trust Caleigh and the work she has done within the WVU gymnastics office," Butts said. "She allows this coaching staff to focus on the advancement of the program and our success in the gym and the classroom. Caleigh is taking on a tremendous amount of responsibility, and I have complete faith in her."
 
Shaffer earned her bachelor's degree in communications (public relations) from Virginia Tech in 2017. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in sport management at WVU.