Area briefs: Elkhart names Ken Hunt as new girls basketball coach
Ken Hunt has been named as the new girls basketball coach at Elkhart High School.
The school announced Hunt's hiring in a release Monday. Hunt replaces Will Coatie, who resigned last month after he was named as the new boys basketball coach at Elkhart High School. Coatie went 36-37 the past three seasons as the Elkhart girls coach after serving as the Elkhart Central girls coach for the previous eight years.
Hunt, who is a Code Enforcement Officer for the City of Elkhart, has worked as an assistant coach since 2012 in various capacities. He was an assistant at Elkhart Central from 2016-2018 when the Blazers won the sectional in 2018. Hunt was also an assistant coach at South Bend Washington for two years when the Panthers were Class 3A state runners-up in 2021 and the Class 3A state champions in 2022.
“Coach Hunt brings a strong connection to the basketball community in Elkhart as well as vast experience of individual player development and training of players at many levels," said Elkhart High School principal Cary Anderson in the release. "We believe that he’ll have an immediate positive impact on the success of our girls basketball program.”
Coach Hunt’s experience extends beyond the high school courts into AAU as well as individual player training and development.
"I bring a comprehensive set of skills that I believe will be valuable to Elkhart girls basketball," said Hunt in the release. "In my AAU trainer role, I have honed my abilities in player evaluation and disciplined development while providing a firm foundation as the leader of this program. I am excited to contribute to and enhance the growth of Elkhart girls basketball whose foundation was set by former head coach Will Coatie."
Elkhart finished 14-10 overall and 8-3 in the Northern Indiana Conference during the 2022-23 season. Coatie, who replaced Kyle Sears as the Elkhart boys coach, was named the Northern Indiana Conference Coach of the Year following the season. The Lions were runner-up to Northridge in the Class 4A Concord Sectional.
The Elkhart girls program is slated to return its top three scorers from this past season next year in Samiyah Stout, Shaniyah Stout and Jaya Johnson. Samiyah Stout and Johnson will be seniors next year, while Shaniyah Stout will be a sophomore.
HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
LaVille, Triton softball players honored
A handful of softball players from LaVille and Triton have earned honors from the Hoosier North Athletic Conference for the 2023 season.
Earning first team All-HNAC accolades were Heaylyn Kwiatkowski of LaVille and Lena Doll of Triton. Named as All-HNAC honorable mention choices were Caitlyn Goffinet and Olivia Markin of LaVille and Hannah Snyder of Triton.
Kinzie Mollenkopf of Caston was tabbed as the Most Valuable Player of the HNAC.
Caston won the league title at 7-0. Knox was second at 6-1, followed by Pioneer (5-2), Winamac (4-3), North Judson (3-4), Triton (2-5), Culver (1-6) and LaVille (0-7).
Sears resigns at Elkhart
Craig Sears, after a long tenure at a pair of Elkhart high schools, recently resigned as the Elkhart High School softball coach.
Sears coached in the Elkhart Memorial/Elkhart High School softball program for 33 years with 21 of those as the head coach. During his time leading softball with Elkhart Community Schools, Coach Sears teams won seven Northern Lakes Conference titles, four sectional titles, and one regional title.
Sears, an Elkhart Memorial graduate, earned Coach of the Year honors six times and had an overall coaching record of 272-236.
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL
Bobcats, Bucks honored
Brandywine and Buchanan each had four players selected to the all-Lakeland Conference first team baseball squad.
Honored from Brandywine were Jamier Palmer, Owen Hulett, Jaremiah Palmer and Robby Dillard. Buchanan players named were Cade Preissing, Connor Legault, Nicholas Finn and Tyler Baker.
Dowagiac had two players picked in Mason Maggert and Ben Klann.
Division champion Berrien Springs led the way with five players selected in Garrett Brewer, Louie Perkins, Brody Brewer, Ben Eising and Nathan Haygood.
AREA HONORABLE MENTION
Holden Carrington (Buchanan), Kaeden Warfield (Brandywine), Drew Deming (Brandywine)
FINAL LEAGUE STANDINGS
Berrien Springs 7-1, Brandywine 6-2, Buchanan 4-4, Dowagiac 2-6, Benton Harbor 0-8
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: High school area briefs. Elkhart names girls basketball coach
