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With the 2024-25 school year being less than a month away, here’s five questions I have regarding Coffee County Central High School sports for next year.

What can we expect out of Red Raider Football in 2024?

I think that we can expect a hungry football team. After the success of 2022, the 2023 season was one to forget, as head coach Doug Green resigned just two games into the season, and defensive coordinator Roger Haynes took his place as interim head coach for the final eight games as the injury-riddled Red Raiders finished 2-8, scoring only 21 points combined against their five region opponents.

In November of 2023, Haynes was appointed as head coach, and this summer, he has been making some changes to the offensive scheme. The players seem to be buying into it, and the senior members of the team have expressed how much they are looking forward to winning more games.

Despite losing 11 seniors from last year’s squad, the Red Raiders retained many key players on both sides of the ball, including the likes of quarterback Jon Massengill, running back Deontae Short, running back Caiden Martin, linebacker Jayden Carter and defensive linemen Tyler Smith and Claudio Vik to name a few.

The path laid out in front of the Red Raiders won’t be an easy one to navigate with the likes of Oakland and Riverdale in their region, but if they stay healthy, I think they will be more competitive this upcoming season than in 2023.

Which new head coach will have the most success in their first year?

While I do think that Roger Haynes and Jerry Pruitt will have some success in the first year as head coach in their respective sport, I believe that new Head Soccer Coach Briggs Haithcock will be the most successful of Coffee County’s new coaches heading into next school year.

The boys soccer team is coming off of an exceptional season in 2024, where they went 13-3-3 and won the Smoky Mountain Cup as well as the Coffee Cup against rival Tullahoma, however, they fell short of a District Championship and were bounced in the Region Semifinals.

Several key players from last year’s squad in Ethan Sloan, Patrick Brown, Manny Gonzales, Joel Barrera, Brayden Trail and Cayden Trail could all be returning for next year, giving Coach Haithcock plenty to work with going into next spring. I think we can all expect big things out of Red Raider Soccer in 2025.

Who will be the go-to player for the Red Raider basketball team next season?

The Red Raider boys basketball team lost three seniors from last year’s squad in Camden Hunt, Cooper Reed and Jackson Shemwell. Though all three had good moments last season, Reed and Shemwell undoubtedly had the most impact on the team, whether it was in the locker room or on the scoresheet. With those two gone, who will step up and be that go-to player for next year?

During summer scrimmages in June, Coach Andrew Taylor made it clear that leadership would continue to be a group effort with Jayden Carter, Courtland Farrar, Cayden Trail, Jaiden Warren and Brady Wright all coming back for their senior year in 2024-25.

Each player can make an impact in their own way; Carter can be a good presence in the paint on both offense and defense, Farrar can be a force on defense, Trail can score from almost anywhere and Warren should see a bigger role this coming year after playing quality minutes off of the bench last year.

However, out of the five seniors, I think Brady Wright will be the one to watch next winter. Coming off his junior year where he won 4A District 9’s Most Improved Player award, Wright will be valuable on both sides of the ball to the Red Raiders, and his ability to shoot the three-pointer will be an important asset on offense.

Can Lady Raider basketball reach the top?

Short answer: of course they can.

It’s pretty rare that a team can go out and have an incredible year like the Lady Raiders did last year and not lose any key players, let alone anybody. They’ve only become stronger with the likes of Addalyn Clark and Hayleigh Harris joining an already stacked core of Natalie Barnes, Jules Ferrell, Channah Gannon and Olivia Vinson.

The core four also have a great supporting cast with the talents of Ella Arnold, Ava McIntosh, Jaydee Nogodula and Audri Patton helping to provide the roster with great depth.

Besides a pretty complete roster, the Lady Raiders also have something even more valuable; experience on a big stage. After making it to the final four of last year’s 4A State Tournament, the Lady Raiders now know what it takes to get there, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them head back to the Murphy Center next March.

Can Lady Raider softball get back in the state tournament conversation?

The 2024 season was a bit of a down year for the Lady Raiders softball team when you consider their recent success. Having made the State Tournament Championship game in 2021 and following that up with state tournament appearances in 2022 and 2023, the Lady Raiders finished the 2024 campaign with a 19-16 record and a loss in the Region Semifinals.

The year started out well enough, as the Lady Raiders went 13-5 through the first 18 games, scoring 9.56 runs per game and surrendering only 3.61 runs a game. However, things seemed to fall apart in the last half of the year, as the team went 6-11 in their final 17 games, including the district tournament and region semifinal, scoring only 3.72 runs per game and allowing 6.22 runs a game.

Apart from the offensive output dropping by almost six runs per game, I think the biggest problem with the softball team last year was the lack of depth at the pitcher position. Lily Norman had a fantastic year in the circle for Coffee County, and in the 25 games that she started or made a relief appearance, the team went 17-8. In games where Norman didn’t make an appearance at all, the Lady Raiders were just 2-8.

The Lady Raiders certainly have the talent for next year should Norman as well as Ella Arnold, Paisley Campbell, Savannah Cooper, Maggie Montgomery and Jalyn Moran among others all return. If they can gain some depth in the pitcher’s circle, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them back in the state tournament conversation.

Overall, I believe that we can expect an exciting school year for Coffee County Central’s sports teams. I think it’s safe to say that I’m not the only one counting down the days until August so we can cheer on our Red Raiders and Lady Raiders.