SMU Athletics

MJ Keys arrived at the Hilltop in fall 2018 as assistant coach, joining her former collegiate head coach Kim Cupini at SMU.

In 2023, SMU made it three consecutive conference championship with the Mustangs sweeping every race. Gillis along with the rest of the SMU coaching staff were named AAC Coaching Staff of the Year by the conference. At the NCAA Championship, the Mustangs finished in the top three in each of the opening races. The performance sent all three boats to the A/B semifinals for the first time in program history. After qualifying for the petite finals, the 1v8 had the best boat finish in SMU history with a first-place finish in the race, good for a seventh-place national showing. The 1v4 and the 2v8 each finished in the top 11 nationally. As a team, the Mustangs finished in ninth place, the best finish by a Mustang squad and the best showing ever by an AAC program.

In 2022, SMU swept all four races at the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship for a second straight season. The Mustangs finished 12th overall at the NCAA Championships with the 1V8+ in 11th, 2V8+ in 10th and the V4+ winning the C final for 13th. The second varsity eight was named AAC Boat of the Year, and the coaches won AAC Staff of the Year. SMU had eight All-AAC honorees with five first-team selections. Three Mustangs were named Pocock/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) All-Americans, the most in program history.
 
In 2021, Keys helped lead SMU to its first conference title after winning all three races at the AAC Championship, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history. SMU finished 11th overall, marking the best finish for an AAC team at this stage. SMU earned AAC Coaching Staff of the Year for the second time and the first varsity eight was named the league's Boat of the Year. Eight SMU rowers were named to the 2021 all-conference team.
 
At the 2021 NCAA Championships, the Mustangs placed 13th overall in the first varsity eight after winning the C final - the highest finish in the event in conference history. After becoming the first crew in conference history to compete in a petite final, the second varsity eight placed second in their final race for eighth overall, marking the highest ever finish in any NCAA event for an AAC team.
 
Captains Peyton Matthews and Juliet Traylor were named Pocock All-Americans while seven Mustangs were named CRCA Scholar Athletes. Starting the 2021 season nationally ranked for the first time (No. 20), SMU topped out at No. 10 in the final CRCA/Pocock poll, the highest ever for the program.
 
Keys helped the Mustangs to a sweep over No. 8 Iowa to begin the 2021 season. SMU later defeated No. 12 Wisconsin and (RV) Notre Dame at the Cardinal Invitational, going on to defeat (RV) Louisville in all three races on the second day. SMU gathered three top-two finishes at the Longhorn Invitational, finishing ahead of No. 10 Alabama and (RV) Notre Dame in the first, second and third varsity eights.
 
In her second season, SMU defeated Alabama by over 12 seconds in the first varsity eight in the Mustangs’ first event of spring 2020 before the cancelation of the remainder of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
In her first season, Keys helped the Mustangs to a conference championship in the first varsity eight in 2019. SMU was the only program to place in the top three of all six events, finishing second overall. A then program-high four rowers were named to the All-AAC team. SMU earned AAC Coaching Staff of the Year and the first varsity eight was the league's Boat of the Year, both program-firsts. Earlier in the season, the Mustangs defeated (RV) Alabama and posted the fastest time of the event at the Sunshine State Invitational. The 2019 campaign also saw SMU receive votes in the national poll for the first time in program history.
 
Prior to SMU, Keys was an assistant coach at Christchurch Boys High School in New Zealand alongside her twin brother, head coach Logan Keys. CBHS were national champions in the novice eight and novice four in 2018 while also capturing national titles in the U17 single, double and quad. 2018 also saw the team win national championships in the U18 pair, quad and four and a Maadi Cup title in the U18 eight.
 
Keys began her collegiate rowing career at Clemson University, transferring to the University of San Diego where she rowed under then-head coach Kim Cupini. She earned All-WCC honors her senior season as a member of the Torero’s first varsity eight.
 
A native of Christchurch, New Zealand, Keys earned her B.A. in philosophy from San Diego in 2015.