DENTON, Tx. – Portland assistant cross country coach Kevin Williams has been named the new North Texas cross country coach and assistant track and field coach, head coach Carl Sheffield announced Thursday.

"We are really excited about having Kevin Williams join our staff," Sheffield said. "He is a dynamic, young coach with a high-caliber recruiting edge that will continue to improve our recruiting classes for the future."

Williams will join North Texas after serving at the UP for the last two years as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for men's and women's cross country and track and field teams. Williams has helped Portland win a West Coast Conference title and earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships in women's cross country in 2016.

"I am extremely excited to be joining the University of North Texas," Williams said. "I am very grateful to coach Sheffield and North Texas athletics for believing in my plan for this team. The Mean Green is on the rise as a program and as a university, and I wanted to be a part of that process."

During his two seasons at Portland, Williams has helped coach WCC individual champion Lauren LaRocco, a three time All-American honoree in women's cross country and track, as well as Grace McConnochie, who was named second team All-American in the 10,000m this past spring. He also coached 1500m First Team All-American Jeff Thies and 3000m Steeplechase Second Team All-American Noah Schutte.

"Kevin has done an amazing job for us," said women's head coach Ian Solof. "His work ethic is incredible and he has gone above and beyond any expectations we had. I truly believe he has helped make our program significantly better and we will have a hard time replacing him. North Texas is getting a great coach and Kevin deserves this opportunity. I'm excited to see how UNT will develop in the next few years."

Prior to his time with Portland, Williams was a distance runner at the University of Oklahoma in 2008-13. He helped the Sooners to three-straight top-10 finishes at the NCAA cross country championships. As a senior in 2013, Williams was named team captain and earned second team All-America in the 5,000-meter run. He was also named Oklahoma's male student-athlete of the year.

"I have been very fortunate that during my time as an athlete and as a coach I have worked with a number of great mentors and leaders," Williams said. "I look to pass on what I have learned from them to the student-athletes that I will be working with every day. Leading a team is an incredible opportunity and I can't wait to get started."