A 19-6 record wasn’t enough: why Gig Harbor’s girls basketball coach was let go
The Gig Harbor High School girls basketball program will be searching for its fourth varsity coach in four seasons.
Michele Hackett, who coached the team during the 2025-26 season, has been let go, according to an email she sent to parents, obtained by The News Tribune.
In the email, Hackett states that she met with Gig Harbor High School athletic director Blair Suek last Thursday, April 23, regarding the future of the program.
“(Suek) told me that she had spoken with players and that the general consensus was that I wasn’t the best fit for this particular program and community,” Hackett wrote in the email. “Truth be told, my heart is sad — I put everything I had into coaching all of you, regardless of whether you were on Varsity or JV, and in doing so, grew to care deeply about each and every one of you. I will miss you dearly.”
Hackett replaced Tim Olson, who was placed on administrative leave — alongside two assistants — after a district investigation found the coaches consumed alcohol during a team trip to Florida, allegedly.
Olson replaced Michael Guinasso, who left after the 2022-23 season. Guinasso replaced Megan Murray, who led the Tides to a state championship under 2019 TNT All-Area player of the year Brynna Maxwell, who later became a WNBA draft pick after playing college basketball at Utah and Gonzaga.
Requests for comment from Hackett, Suek and Peninsula School District athletic director Wendy Malich were not answered, as of Wednesday morning.
A source told The News Tribune many of the team’s parents remained firmly in the corner of previous coach Tim Olson, and felt they never gave Hackett a fair chance. The source also said some of the parents weren’t fans of Hackett’s laid-back, hands-off coaching style during games.
By any reasonable standard, Gig Harbor had a successful season under Hackett, who was hired late in the cycle and wasn’t able to coach the team during the summer, a critical team development period for any coach, but especially a first-year coach.
Gig Harbor posted a 19-6 record in the 2025-26 season and was one win away from playing in the Class 3A state tournament at the Tacoma Dome, falling 44-43 to the Maggee Schmitz-led White River Hornets in a state tournament regional round game at the University of Puget Sound Logger Memorial Fieldhouse on Feb. 28.
Hackett was named the 3A Puget Sound League Narrows Division coach of the year in 2025-26. Two Tides — senior Kaliyah Miller and junior Willow Bonnici — were named first-team all-league selections, while junior Ashlyn Pierce and sophomore Anike Jones were second-team selections.
In a Feb. 13 “PSD Playbook” sports blog post on the Peninsula School District’s website, the district congratulated Hackett on her coach of the year honor.
“COACH OF THE YEAR: Michele Hackett (GHHS, First Year),” it states. “Let’s talk about this for a second. Coach Hackett is in her first year at Gig Harbor and just won Coach of the Year. That is not luck—that is leadership, preparation, and building a culture that wins. Congrats, Coach!”
Hackett appeared to take the high road after her dismissal, staying positive in her email to parents and wishing the players luck in the future.
“Please know that I will always be a huge fan — not only of the players you are, but of the humans you are,” she wrote. “Thank you for the wonderful memories and for allowing me to be a part of your high school basketball careers, even if just for a season. It meant the world to me to be a part of it.”
Gig Harbor will need to turn its focus to filling the position quickly, ideally before the summer season begins. Will the job be attractive to candidates? There’s consistently good talent in Gig Harbor and ample community resources, but the program’s high turnover rate with coaches in recent years could make it unappealing.
