Mainland hires Zykia McNair as girls basketball head coach

For Zykia McNair, Monday felt like winning a national championship.

She accomplished that feat in 2017 as a guard for the Concordia College Alabama Hornets in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association. Now, seven years later, Mainland High School hired McNair as its new girls basketball head coach.

“It feels like a dream come true,” she told the News-Journal. “This is something I have been striving for for a long time. It's just a blessing.”

The 31-year-old spent last season as an assistant coach for the Buccaneers under Brandon Stewart, the man she replaces.

Stewart left Daytona Beach last month to take over the girls hoops program at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale. He ended his time at Mainland with an 86-46 record, two state finals appearances and one state title in five seasons.

This is McNair’s first high school head-coaching gig.

McNair attended DeLand as a freshman and sophomore before transferring to Mainland for her final two years. She played basketball at both schools and graduated as a Buc in 2011.

She went on to suit up for three colleges — Eastern Florida State for one year and Bishop State for another before wrapping up at Concordia.

In 2022, McNair served as an assistant coach for DeLand. She also leads an AAU program.

“I always wanted to be in a position to lead and save as many kids as I can,” she said.

After Stewart departed, Mainland garnered 11 applicants, athletic director Terry Anthony said. McNair aced two rounds of interviews.

She officially accepted an offer Monday morning.

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“She just presented herself, in the committee's eyes, as the best candidate,” Anthony said. “She knows the girls ... She has a plan. She knows she's coming into a program that has been to the Elite Eight or better the past five years but knows she's coming into a program that's going to be building because we've graduated all of that talent that was a part of those teams.

“She just presented herself that she was ready for the job. Her energy knocked it out of the park.”

Last winter, the Bucs posted an 18-13 record against the fourth-hardest schedule in the state. They charged to Five Star Conference, district and regional titles on their way to being the Class 5A runner-up.

McNair will inherit a new group. Two of Mainland’s three All-Area first-team players from 2023-24 graduated last spring, and the other transferred.

“I am ready to rebuild,” McNair said, “and restore.”