The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has announced the Section nominees for the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) California State Coach of the Year award for the 2019-20 school year. These coaches were selected based on the positive work they have done with the student-athletes in their respective sports programs.
“The CIF would like to thank and honor these well-deserving coaches for all they do for the student-athletes of California as their efforts go far beyond the court, field, mat, track, or pool deck,” said CIF Executive Director Ron Nocetti.
As these coaches move forward in the NFHS Coach of the Year awards process, updates will be shared accordingly. Please see below for a complete list of NFHS Coach of the Year Nominees as selected by each respective CIF Section Office.
The six CIF Sections in Northern California accounted for 91 nominations, 18 from the Central Coast and North Coast, two from the Northern, 11 from Oakland City, 22 the Sac-Joaquin, and 20 from San Francisco City.
The four Southern California Sections had a total of 57 nominations, 21 from the Central, 13 from Los Angeles City, 10 from San Diego, and 13 from the Southern.
Among the nominees are coaches that have won CIF state championships both this past school year and in years previous, including Tim Murphy from Clayton Valley.
The NCS nominee for football took his team all the way to the 2019 CIF state 2-AA Bowl Game championship. Along the way, and as quiet as it has been kept, Murphy totaled his career record, something he had shied away from doing because he feels the assistant coaches and players deserve a lot of credit, and lo and behold he found out he had reached the magical 200 career victory plateau.
Murphy now enters the upcoming season with a 204-65-1 record. He becomes only the 15th coach in NCS history to achieve the 200-win milestone.
2019-20 NFHS California Coach of the Year Nominations
Northern Region
Central Coast Section Selections
Coach/School/Sport
Joseph Allegri/Harbor/Baseball
Dan Powers/Pacific Grove/Boys Basketball
LyRyan Russell/Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep/Girls Basketball
Phil Pompei/St. Francis/Boys Cross Country
Albert Caruana/Crystal Springs Upland/Girls Cross Country
Jeff Scheller/San Mateo/Football
Ie-Chen Cheng/The Harker School/Girls Golf
Ken Anderson/El Camino/Boys Soccer
Jose Navarrette/Woodside/Girls Soccer
Tom Cardinale/Notre Dame (Salinas)/Softball
Craig Norman/Salinas /Boys Swim & Dive
AJ Vergara/Westmoor/Girls Swim & Dive
Dave Owdom/Aragon/Boys Tennis
John Musser/Fremont/Girls Tennis
Mike Rubin/St. Francis/Girls Volleyball
Ken Pollastrini/San Lorenzo/Boys Wrestling
Jim Fannin/Stevenson School/Boys Water Polo
Fernando Flanagan/Pioneer/Girls Wrestling
North Coast Section Selections
Coach/School/Sport
Ken Arnerich/Alameda/Baseball
Mike Saia/Marin Catholic/Boys Basketball
Chris Gomez/Fremont Christian/Girls Basketball
Chris Williams/Dublin/Boys Cross Country
Ruth Seabrook/Northgate/Girls Cross Country
Tim Murphy/Clayton Valley Charter/Football
Terry Eidson/De La Salle/Boys Golf
Jon Schwan/Montgomery/Boys Soccer
Shane Kennedy/Tamalpais/Girls Soccer
Mike Cobb/Bishop O’Dowd/Softball
Denise Murray/Jesse Bethel/Spirit
William Gaebler/Berkeley/Girls Swim & Dive
Mike McCollum/Miramonte/Boys Tennis
Mariella De La Cruz/Jesse Bethel/Girls Tennis
Mike Buckley/Convent & Stuart Hall/Boys Track & Field
Jake Spain/Marin Catholic/Girls Volleyball
Johann Gerlach/Sir Francis Drake/Boys Wrestling
Sabrina Ross/Castro Valley/Girls Wrestling
Sac-Joaquin Section Selections
Coach/School/Sport
Charly Garza/Hughson/Baseball
Denard Wilson/Grant/Boys Basketball
Jeff Ota/McClatchy /Girls Basketball
Kevin Selby/Nevada Union/Boys Cross Country
Amber Lassetter/Cosumnes Oaks/Girls Cross Country
Chris Musseman/Ripon/Football
Tim Healy/Granite Bay/Boys Golf
Matt Doyle/Enochs /Girls Golf
Giovanni Villalobos/Natomas/Boys Soccer
Jordan Martinez/El Camino/Girls Soccer
Mary Jo Truesdale/Sheldon/Softball
Michele Fay/Sierra/Spirit
Lotty Hellested/Nevada Union/Boys Swim & Dive
Owen Yancher/Davis/Girls Swim & Dive
Dale Eckenburg/Rocklin/Boys Tennis
Ed Melfort/Sierra /Girls Tennis
Peanut/Tena Harms/El Dorado/Boys Track & Field
Dave Unterholzner/Bella Vista/Girls Track & Field
Martin Soyama/El Camino/Girls Volleyball
Rob Beckhart/Central Valley/Boys Wrestling
Lance Mansuetti/Nevada Union/Boys Volleyball
Jeremy Arsich/Natomas/Girls Wrestling
Northern Section Selections
Coach/School/Sport
Tom St. Jacques/Lassen/Football
Carol Martin/Willows/Girls Volleyball
Oakland Section Selections
Coach/School/Sport
Orlando Watkins/Oakland/Boys Basketball
Leroy Hurt/Oakland Tech/Girls Basketball
Sean Kohles/Skyline/Boys Cross Country
Richie Boulet/Oakland Tech/Girls Cross Country
Joe Bates/Skyline/Football
James Salazar/Skyline/Girls Golf
Joel Higgins/Oakland Tech/Boys Soccer
Mark Savvides/Oakland Tech/Girls Soccer
Lauren Brown/Madison Park Academy/Girls Tennis
Erica Hansen/Skyline/Girls Volleyball
Dennis Spencer/Skyline/Boys Wrestling
San Francisco Section Selections
Coach/School/Sport
Brian Jesson/Washington/Baseball
Carl Jacobs/Lincoln/Boys Basketball
Brian Jackson/Burton/Girls Basketball
Olga Camacho/Burton/Boys Cross Country
Danny Camacho/Washington/Girls Cross Country
Phil Ferrigno/Lincoln/Football
Chris Biorn/Galileo/Boys Golf
Lori McLoughlin/Washington/Girls Golf
Antonio Medina/Leadership/Boys Soccer
Amber Wilson /Lowell/Girls Soccer
Sascha Taylor-Ray/Lowell/Softball
Sue Kenney/Lincoln/Spirit
Gwen Dornan/Balboa/Boys Swim & Dive
Chelsea Huang/Galileo/Girls Swim & Dive
Brian Lee/Lowell/Boys Tennis
Gabriel Morse/Wallenberg/Girls Tennis
Kevin Doherty/Lincoln/Boys Track & Field
Andy Leong/Lowell/Girls Track & Field
Kelly Sung/Lowell/Girls Volleyball
Daniel Pena/San Francisco International/Boys Wrestling
Southern Region
Southern Section Selections
Coach/School/Sport
Francisco Munoz/Eastside/Boys Basketball
Matt Dale/Paloma Valley/Girls Basketball
Colin Pratt/Agoura/Boys Cross Country
Kristen Goossens/Orange Lutheran/Girls Cross Country
Hudson Gossard/Crescenta Valley/Football
Ray Rivera/Palos Verdes/Girls Golf
Luis Sanchez/Foothill Tech/Boys Soccer
Abraham Pina/Santa Clara/Girls Soccer
Kelly McClusky/Brea Olinda/Spirit
Jack Trinh/Segerstrom/Girls Tennis
Aleka Estrada/Cornerstone Christian (Wildomar) Girls Volleyball
Mark Alex/Corona del Mar/Boys Wrestling
Jimmie Bowers/Corona/Girls Wrestling
Central Section Selections
Coach/School/Sport
Michael Garza/Highland/Baseball
Ryan Glanville/Arroyo Grande/Boys Basketball
Amy Bush/Sierra Pacific/Girls Basketball
Paul Contreras/Foothill/Girls Cross Country
Ivan Huff/Paso Robles/Boys Cross Country
Jeromy Blackwell/Strathmore/Football
Bill Jensen/Kingsburg/Boys Golf
Ken Shipley/Clovis West/Girls Golf
Tim Carey/Hoover/Girls Lacrosse
Michael Jordan/Farmersville/Boys Soccer
Darin Lasky/Exeter/Girls Soccer
Mike Noel/Clovis/Softball
Britney Audino/Tulare Union/Spirit
Dave Hodge/Tulare Western/Boys Swim & Dive
Karyn Klatt/Sunnyside/Girls Swim & Dive
Ken Peet/San Luis Obispo/Boys Tennis
Jeremy Warkentin/Sanger/Girls Tennis
Ryan Renz/Liberty (Bakersfield)/Boys Track & Field
Brian Weaver/Buchanan/Girls Track & Field
Maria Collatz/Stockdale/Girls Volleyball
Sam Lopez/Selma/Boys Wrestling
San Diego Section Selections
Coach/School/Sport
Hugo Estrada/Calexico/Boys Basketball
Sade Wiley-Gatewood/Serra/Girls Basketball
Tialoc Venacio/Crawford/Boys Cross County
Robert Muscheck/Sage Creek/Girls Cross County
Tyler Roach /La Jolla/Football
Richard Deem/Rancho Bernardo/Girls Golf
Joaquin Huertero/Helix/Boys Soccer
Wayne Brewton/Otay Ranch/Girls Soccer
Erik Hur/Olympian/Girls Tennis
Cheley Strahm/Holtville/Girls Volleyball
Los Angeles City Section Selections
Coach/School/Sport
Ed Azzam/Westchester/Boys Basketball
Adam Levine/Palisades Charter/Girls Basketball
Bruce Thomson/San Pedro/Boys Cross Country
Roman Gomez/Belmont/Girls Cross Country
Jim Rose/Birmingham Charter/Football
Dan Ma/Granada Hills Charter/Girls Golf
Ian Kogan/El Camino Real Charter/Boys Soccer
Chaka Forman/Venice/Girls Soccer
Chris Samsell/San Fernando/Girls Tennis
Tim Bergeron/Eagle Rock/Girls Volleyball
Trent Jackson/Sylmar/Boys Wrestling
Adam Blakis/Palisades Charter Boys/Water Polo
Nicholas Garibay/Banning/Girls Wrestling
