Winner of The News Tribune’s high school boys team coach of the year
Voting is now closed for The News Tribune’s high school boys team coach of the year for 2024-25 high school seasons. Thanks to everyone who voted and supported local athletics.
The News Tribune’s high school boys team coach of the year is:
Ryan Rogers, Lincoln basketball
Rogers guided Lincoln’s young nucleus to the 3A quarterfinals at the Tacoma Dome without a senior on his roster. Abes went 26-6 overall and captured the 3A Puget Sound League title and District 3/4 title.
The poll is below. You can read about all of the candidates and their accomplishments below.
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Henry Cheney, Charles Wright/Life Christian baseball — Coached the combined Class 1A program to a 17-6 record and all the way to the 1A state tournament semifinals after picking up wins over Royal and Cedar Park Christian in the state tournament. Finished in third place, beating Overlake/Bear Creek in the third/fourth place consolation game.
Jody Coleman, Orting wrestling — Led the Cardinals to their fourth-straight 2A team title that included six individual state champions and four-time state champions Quentin Harding (157) and Alan Salguero Jr. (138)
Chris Feist, Tahoma wrestling — Directed the Bears (226 points) to repeat 4A state titles at the Tacoma Dome’s Mat Classic XXXVI, a two-team race with Mead (219.5). Tahoma featured state champion Owen Marshall (4A 126) and runners-up Isac Deonigi (157) and Adriano Perez (175).
Kevin Olson, Puyallup basketball — At the helm of Puyallup’s first state championship appearance since 1971, Olson collected wins over Davis (Yakima), Mount Si and West Valley (Yakima) at the Tacoma Dome before falling to Gonzaga Prep by two points in the title game. Finished the season with a 23-8 record and 4A SPSL title.
Ryan Rogers, Lincoln basketball — Guided Lincoln’s young nucleus to the 3A quarterfinals at the Tacoma Dome without a senior on his roster. Abes went 26-6 overall and captured the 3A Puget Sound League title and District 3/4 title.
Keith Ross, Sumner football — Longtime Spartans head coach won his first state championship in his 23rd season with a down-to-the-wire, 27-24 win over Camas in the 4A title game at Husky Stadium last December. Sumner went 13-1 overall without an in-state loss.
Ben Sleeter, Gig Harbor baseball — In his first season coaching the Tides, Sleeter took Gig Harbor to the 3A semifinals with a 25-3 overall record. Tides claimed the 3A Puget Sound League title and finished runner-up in the 3A District 3/4 bracket.
Josh Sneva, White River wrestling — Guided the Hornets to 3A’s first-place trophy at Mat Classic XXXVI (252) over Hermiston (242.5) with two individual state champions: Caleb Dale (3A 150) and Riley Simmons (215).
Matt Vaeena, Decatur football — TNT’s All-Area football coach of the year guided Decatur into the state tournament for the first time in program history. After a winless campaign against league rivals in 2022, Decatur went 8-2 in ‘23 and captured an undefeated 3A NPSL title last fall.
Marc Wiese, Puyallup basketball — In his 30th and final year as Puyallup’s skipper, Wiese and the Vikings enjoyed a 28-game win streak before falling to Lake Washington in the 4A semifinals. Puyallup ranked No. 23 nationally in MaxPreps’ final spring rankings and won 4A SPSL and District 3/4 titles.
Dominique Williams, Annie Wright basketball — After falling in 2024’s 1A championship, Williams and the Gators completed their revenge campaign with a state title in Yakima. The tournament’s top seed took down No. 3 Lynden Christian, 59-46, and finished 23-2 overall. Cruised to 1A Nisqually and District 3 titles.
This story was originally published June 30, 2025 at 1:15 PM.
