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Kevin John Lisch (born May 16, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, most known for his time spent in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) as a player. He also holds an Italian passport and is an Australian citizen.
Lisch played college basketball for the Saint Louis Billikens between 2005 and 2009, where he finished as the sixth-highest scorer in school history. After college, he made a name for himself in the NBL in Australia. He won an NBL championship and grand final MVP with the Perth Wildcats in his first professional season before winning the league MVP in 2012 and leading the Wildcats to another two grand finals in 2012 and 2013. He returned to the NBL in 2015 after two seasons playing in Europe, joining the Illawarra Hawks and winning his second league MVP. In 2016, he joined the Sydney Kings and made his debut for the Australian national team at the Rio Olympics. He played four seasons with the Kings and retired in 2020. He subsequently moved into an assistant coach position and helped the Kings win championships in 2022 and 2023.
Lisch played basketball for Althoff Catholic and was often triple-defended on the court. He was an all-state guard and was twice named Belleville News-Democrat Player of the Year. He finished his tenure as the school's all-time leading scorer with 2,000 points. Lisch was also a bright student, joining the student council and the National Honor Society.
As a freshman playing for the Billikens in 2005–06, Lisch was selected to the A-10 All-Rookie Team and was a three-time recipient of the A-10 Rookie of the Week award. He was the team's second-leading scorer at 11.1 points per game and top three-point shooter with 58 treys, which set the SLU freshman single-season record.
As a sophomore in 2006–07, Lisch was on the A-10 All-Defensive Team and earned honorable mention All-Conference selection. He was also named to the Shelby Classic All-Tournament team. He was second on the team and 13th in the A-10 with 14.9 points per game, and dealt a team-high 3.47 assists per game to rank eighth in the league. He led the team in assists in 19 games and was the top scorer 13 times—he scored in double figures in 26 games, including the last 14.
As a junior in 2007–08, Lisch was named third-team All-Conference and to the All-Defensive team. He was also voted to the Academic All-Conference squad and was selected to the Hispanic College Fund Challenge All-Tournament team. He led the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game, assists with 97 and steals with 38.
As a senior in 2008–09, Lisch was named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American third team and was a first-team Academic All-District selection. He was chosen to the NABC All-District second team and voted the A-10 Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year. He was also third-team All-Conference and was named to the Las Vegas Classic All-Tournament team. In 31 games as a senior, he averaged 14.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
Lisch closed out his career in sixth place on SLU's scoring list with 1,687 points. His 325 assists rank ninth on the career chart and his 259 three-pointers are second only to the school-record 295 by Erwin Claggett. Lisch's 133 steals rank fifth at SLU also. As a result of his standout four-year tenure, Lisch was named to the Billikens' All-Century Team and was inducted into the SLU Hall of Fame.
The Wildcats finished the regular season as minor premiers with a 17–11 record, and faced the Gold Coast Blaze in the semi-finals. Behind Lisch's 19 points in Game 1 and 18 points in Game 2, the Wildcats swept the Blaze to move on to the 2010 NBL Grand Final series, where they faced Wollongong. With the series tied at 1–1, Lisch took over in Game 3 to score a game-high and season-high 29 points with five 3-pointers in leading the Wildcats to the championship with a 96–72 victory over the Hawks. Lisch, who posted 15 points in Game 1 and 11 in Game 2, was named grand final MVP. Lisch appeared in all 33 games for the Wildcats in 2009–10, averaging 12.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
Lisch scored in double figures in every game but three during the regular season, helping the Wildcats finish second on the ladder with a 19–9 record. He was subsequently named the NBL Most Valuable Player and to the All-NBL Team. He joined Paul Rogers (2000) as the only Wildcats players to win league MVP. He helped the Wildcats defeat the Gold Coast Blaze 2–1 in the semi-finals to move on to the 2012 NBL Grand Final series. There the Wildcats faced the New Zealand Breakers, but despite Lisch averaging 19 points per game in the series, the Wildcats were defeated 2–1. He appeared in all 34 games for the Wildcats in 2011–12, averaging 17.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
Lisch scored in double figures in every game but five during the regular season, helping the Wildcats finish second on the ladder with a 22–6 record. He was subsequently named in the All-NBL Team for the second straight year. He helped the Wildcats sweep the Wollongong Hawks in the semi-finals to move on to the 2013 NBL Grand Final series. There the Wildcats once again faced the New Zealand Breakers, only to lose the series in straight sets. He appeared in all 32 games for the Wildcats in 2012–13, averaging 15.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He was named the Wildcats' Club MVP for the third straight year.
In late May 2013, Lisch and coach Rob Beveridge parted ways with the Wildcats. In each of the Wildcats' 130 games since the beginning of the 2009–10 season, both Lisch and Beveridge took to the floor in every contest. In four seasons, Lisch averaged 14.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He ended his tenure in Perth to pursue his European aspirations.
In June 2014, Lisch parted ways with Nanterre and signed with Spanish team Basket Zaragoza. He appeared in 34 Liga ACB games for Zaragoza in 2014–15, averaging 6.4 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He also appeared in 15 Eurocup games, averaging 6.0 points, 1.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
Following the 2014–15 season, Zaragoza offered to renew Lisch's contract, but he declined in order to return to Australia.
On January 7, 2016, Lisch was named NBL Player of the Month for December after leading the Hawks to five wins in six games and averaging 22.7 points, 4.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game throughout the month. On January 17, he scored a career-high 40 points in a 103–96 double-overtime win over the New Zealand Breakers in Auckland. Four days later, he played his 150th NBL game in a loss to the Wildcats in Perth.
Lisch helped the Hawks finish the regular season in third place with a 17–11 record, which set them up to play the second-seeded Perth Wildcats in the semi-finals. Their chances of defeating the Wildcats were weakened when Lisch went down heavily on his left ankle late in the first quarter of Game 1 in Perth and did not return, only coming back to the team's bench in the second half in a moon boot on crutches. The Wildcats subsequently took Game 1. The injury ruled Lisch out of Game 2, but the Hawks managed to rally at home to even the series. He recovered in time to face the Wildcats in Game 3; however, despite Lisch's return, the Hawks were defeated 89–74, as they bowed out of the finals with a 2–1 series loss.
Prior to the start of the finals, Lisch was named the recipient of the Andrew Gaze Trophy as the NBL's most valuable player for the 2015–16 season. Lisch, who was also named NBL Best Defensive Player and All-NBL Team, became just the second player in league history to win the award with two different teams. He also became the fourth Hawks player to win the award, joining Mike Jones (1981), Gary Ervin (2011) and Rotnei Clarke (2014), while becoming only the sixth player in NBL history to have been named MVP in multiple seasons, joining Andrew Gaze (7), Scott Fisher (2), Leroy Loggins (2), Robert Rose (2) and Chris Anstey (2). In 27 games for the Hawks in 2015–16, he averaged 19.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
In his debut for the Kings in their season opener on October 8, 2016, Lisch scored a game-high 20 points in a 77–73 loss to the Brisbane Bullets. He missed a game on October 30 against Brisbane due to a minor leg injury. On November 12, 2016, he scored a season-high 30 points in an 87–71 win over Melbourne United. By mid-November, Lisch had led the Kings to atop the NBL ladder behind his 18 points per game. By Round 11, the Kings had slipped from the top spot, and by Round 14 they were no longer among the top four. The Kings missed the finals in 2016–17 after losing nine of their final twelve games, finishing seventh on the ladder with a 13–15 record. Lisch appeared in 27 out of the Kings' 28 games, averaging 16.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game.
The Kings started the season with Lisch at point guard, with the experiment being heavily criticised. He soon suffered a right calf injury and was subsequently ruled out for eight weeks with a grade two tear. He re-injured his calf at training in mid-December. The Kings struggled defensively in Lisch's absence and sat at the bottom of the NBL ladder for much of the season. He returned to the active roster in mid-January after missing 17 games. In his return game on January 13, Lisch recorded seven points and four rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench before fouling out of the Kings' 104–101 loss to the Adelaide 36ers. On February 15, he scored a season-high 18 points in a 90–73 win over the Brisbane Bullets. He helped the Kings to six wins in their last seven games. Despite the late season surge, the Kings missed the finals with an 11–17 record. In 11 games, Lisch averaged 11.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
Lisch's ankle injury early in the season led to an exacerbation of a pre-existing ankle condition. He subsequently underwent surgery following the season, with the recommendation from multiple medical specialists being that he should avoid further impact activities following the surgery. As a result, on June 9, 2020, Lisch announced his retirement from basketball.
In June 2017, Lisch was named in a 20-man Boomers training camp squad ahead of the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup. However, due to injury, he was not named in the final 12-man squad. Lisch returned to the Boomers squad in February 2018 for the FIBA World Cup qualifiers. He continued on with the Boomers for their final World Cup qualifying matches in June.
Lisch holds an Italian passport thanks to his mother's Italian heritage. He first applied for an Italian passport in 2011. In March 2016, he became an Australian citizen.
Lisch and his Australian wife Rachel () married in 2012. The couple met while Rachel was playing for the West Coast Waves in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). They have four children: Benjamin, Sofia, and twins Isabel and Isaac.
In June 2023, Lisch and his family moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he began working for a wealth firm.
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