Local coaches bring home Coach of the Year honors

Multiple local coaches were awarded Coach of the Year Honors by the Mississippi Association of Coaches, given to the top coach in each sport throughout the state at the end of the athletic season. 

Mark Fanning and Elisabeth Gaillet of St. Andrew’s, BJ Towsend of Canton, and Todd Beach of Madison Central all took home postseason honors. 

Mark Fanning won the Coach of the Year award for baseball, after leading St. Andrew’s baseball to a 22-11 record and the second round of the MHSAA 2A playoffs, where the Saints fell to the eventual state runner-up in Clarkdale by one run. Fanning has established himself as one of the area’s top coaches, leading a young team to success this season, after winning a state title last year. 

Elisabeth Gaillet won Coach of the Year honors for Girls’ Track, after leading the Lady Saints to a dominant MHSAA 2A state title. The Lady Saints won the state championship meet by 101 points and saw six members of the team win individual state titles. 

BJ Townsend captured Coach of the Year honors for boys’ basketball, after leading Canton to its second consecutive MHSAA 5A state title in the 2024-2025 season. After a slow start to the season, Townsend rallied Canton to peak at the right time and rolled through the state tournament to clinch back-to-back titles. Townsend will also send senior Jamarion Davis-Flemming, the state’s top senior basketball recruit, to Mississippi State next season. 

Todd Beach was awarded with Coach of the Year accolades for Boys’ Golf, after leading Madison Central to the MHSAA 7A team state title in the fall. The Jaguars won the state title by ten shots over second-place Germantown. Madison Central also saw five players shoot in the top-25 of the individual portion of the competition, including Tucker Gutierrez, Wright Taylor, Hayden Webber, Daniel Young, and Parker Winders.