Submitted by: Cabral Huff Document The EmbRACEus recipient of the Anthony Stewart Memorial Award is Brian Benator, Assistant Coach at the University of West Florida. The Anthony Stewart Memorial Award goes to a coach at any level, Head or Assistant, that has exemplified the values that EmbRACEus stands for to transform, empower and promote. Coach Anthony Stewart was the Head Coach at UT-Martin for 4 seasons as well as a member of the EmbRACEus family. Anyone that knew "Coach Stew '' as he was called knows his life on & off the court transcends the vision of EmbRACEus. Coach Benator is the epitome of someone that will do it all to get the job done. Having just completed his 6th season at the University of West Georgia; Brian has gone above and beyond in this category. His impact was bigger than any win or loss. The EmbRACEus recipient of the Women's JUCO Coach of the Year is Hana Haden of Moberly Area Community College. Coach Haden just completed her 3rd season as head coach where the Lady Greyhounds finished 18-6 while being ranked in the top 15 all year and receiving an at-large bid to the NJCAA National Tournament. The EmbRACEus recipients of the Men's JUCO Co-Coaches of the Year are Joe Eatmon of Shelton State Community College and Yusef Fitzgerald of Hinds Community College. Coach Eatmon just completed his 5th season as head coach where he led the Bucs to a 24-2 record while reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history in the NJCAA National Tournament. The Bucs also finished ranked #4 in the country which was the highest finish in school history. Coach Eatmon also won District 12 Coach of the Year, Region 22 Coach of the Year and ACCC Coach of the Year this past season. Coach Fitzgerald just completed his fourth season as head coach where he led the Bulldogs to a 13-3 record while finishing in the Final Four of the Region 23 Tournament. Coach Fitzgerald was named 2021 MACCC Coach of the Year while also being named an inaugural Top Connect Lead NJCAA member. The EmbRACEus recipient of the Women's Assistant Coach of the Year is Aisha Foy of the University of Kentucky. Coach Foy just completed her third season with the Lady Wildcats as the Director of Recruiting. During this past season, Coach Foy helped lead the Lady Wildcats to a 18-9 record and a 2nd Round appearance in the NCAA tournament while also writing and publishing her first book called "Success is My Major. Start Entitled, Leave Unforgettable." The EmbRACEus recipients of the Men's Assistant Co-Coaches of the Year are Andre Gray of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Johnathan Mattox of Morehead State University. Coach Gray just completed his third season with the Spartans as an Assistant Coach. Coach Gray helped lead the Spartans to the Southern Conference Regular Season Championship, Southern Conference Tournament Championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament with a 21-9 record. During his three seasons at UNCG, Coach Gray helped the Spartans to three straight 20 win seasons along with coaching the Player of Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Coach Mattox just completed his 6th season with the Eagles where he was recently named Associate Head Coach. Coach Mattox assisted in leading the Eagles to their first OVC Conference Tournament Championship in 10 years and leading the Eagles to the NCAA tournament with a 23-8 record. Coach Mattox has been named one of the top assistants in the OVC by multiple media outlets. |
TRANSFORM | EMPOWER | PROMOTE