2021 SMDR Coach of the Year: Terrence Johnson

Terrence Johnson was given one season to prove himself as Texas State’s head men’s basketball coach. The odds weren’t necessarily stacked in his favor. He had to guide the Bobcats through the emotionally turbulent departure of former head coach Danny Kaspar. He had to rebuild an offense that had just lost its top scorer in program history. He had to adjust to the changes that the COVID-19 pandemic brought. And he had to do it all with an interim tag attached to his title, leaving no promise of any permanence.

“T.J.” handled all of it capably. His team went 18-7 overall and 12-3 in conference play, earning Texas State’s first-ever Sun Belt regular season championship. Johnson was named the league’s Coach of the Year and was signed to a four-year contract after the season. He’s picked up right where he left off last year, starting the 2021-22 season going 9-3 in non-conference play.

Johnson’s ability to lead the Bobcats through a year of uncertainty makes him the Daily Record’s 2021 Coach of the Year.

Honorable Mentions:

San Marcos Academy Football’s Chris Chacon

Chacon’s first year with the Bears couldn’t have gone more smoothly. A year after reaching the state final, Chacon took SMA even further, pushing them to a 10-4 overall record and an appearance in the TAPPS Six Man Division I state championship game. The Bears fell in the final game of the playoffs, but Chacon has them trending in the right direction.

San Marcos Volleyball’s Jared Te’o

The Lady Rattlers showed a lot of growth in their second year under Te’o. San Marcos improved from 11 wins in 2020 to 32 in 2021, breaking the program’s single-season record and reaching the playoffs for the second year in a row. Though the Lady Rattlers placed fourth in the district, Te’o was voted District 26-6A’s Coach of the Year by his peers at the end of the season — an award that has historically gone to the coach of the first- or second-place school.

Texas State Softball’s Ricci Woodard

The Bobcats returned to the NCAA tournament in 2021 by relying not just on seasoned veterans but young players who Woodard recruited in the past two seasons. Woodard’s coaching prowess was on full display in the team’s win over No. 10 Oregon at the NCAA Austin Regional on May 21. Woodard used a pair of stylistically opposite pitchers to stifle a Ducks team that had hit for .291 on the season, winning the game 5-1.

Texas State Volleyball’s Sean Huiet

Huiet just about coached two seasons in one calendar year. The head coach steered the Bobcats through a 12-match slate in the spring, helping them prepare for the 2020-21 NCAA tournament in which the team reached the Round of 32 for just the second time in program history. Huiet won another 20 games in the fall, leading Texas State to its fifth consecutive appearance in the Sun Belt championship match.

San Marcos Football’s John Walsh

After three consecutive years of winning two or less games, Walsh helped the Rattlers find their way again. San Marcos returned to the UIL 6A state playoffs for the first time since 2017 in Walsh’s second year, going 5-5 in the regular season before being eliminated in the first round.