Coach of the Year Winners
Erin Hoffman
Advance Volleyball, 2020 Coach of the Year
The Hornets coach led her team to a second consecutive MSHSAA Class 1 state championship to culminate a 36-2 season. The only defeats Advance suffered were to Class 4 programs Jackson (28 wins in 2019) and Lindbergh (25 wins).
Jake Hime
Ellington, 2019 Coach of the Year
Dayna Powell
Cape Girardeau Central swimming, 2018 Coach of the Year
Synonymous with swimming in Cape Girardeau, Powell shepherded both the boys and girls swimming teams to standout seasons — the most recent of many. In the fall, she led the boys to a second straight team state championship, and in the winter helped the girls to a second consecutive conference championship and an 11th-place result at state behind a talented, young core.
Justin Simpher
Bell City, 2017 Coach of the Year
Success is no stranger to Simpher and his Cubs, but the skipper helped his program achieve the often-difficult task of staying on top once it got there. Bell City won the Class 1 state title — defeating Wellsville 10-0 in five innings in the finale — for a third straight season, becoming just the seventh team in Missouri to ever accomplish that feat, and second in Class 1. It may have been Simpher’s biggest challenge, as the small-school Cubs (24-6) lost four senior starters from the previous year.
Keenan Buchanan
Gideon, 2016 Coach of the Year
Not only was Buchanan the school’s principal and athletic director, he also led the boys basketball program to its first apperance in the final four, despite a midseason courtside health scare for the coach. The Bulldogs finished third in Class 1. Buchanan also coached the baseball team to a district title in the spring.
Frank Staple
Scott County Central, 2015 Coach of the Year
The Braves won their second consecutive state title in Staple’s third and final year leading the Braves. SCC’s state-record 18th title came after being bumped up to Class 2 and with a short roster.
Chad Allen
Dexter Girls Basketball, 2014 Coach of the Year
Allen’s team reached the Class 4 state final four in consecutive years and made it to the championship game for the first time in school history this year, finishing second in the state. Allen was named the SEMO Conference Coach of the Year as well as the Class 4 Coach of the Year by the Missouri Sportswriters and Broadcasters.