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Meet the Coaches of the Year from the Middle Tennessee High School Sports Awards

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Independence boys basketball coach Mark Wilkins and Pickett County girls basketball coach Brent Smith were both named the Coaches of the Year Monday night at the Middle Tennessee High School Sports Awards held at Marathon Music Works.

The show is produced in partnership with Nissan.

The Boys and Girls Team Coaches of the Year were sponsored by USA TODAY Sports.

The other finalists for Boys Team Coach of the Year were Steve Brock of Brentwood High School and Tony Brunetti of Pearl-Cohn.

The finalists for Girls Team Coach of the Year were Shawn Allen of Franklin Road Academy and Kelsey Cartwright of Liberty Creek.

Wilkins is now officially part of the family legacy. He joined his father, Mitch, and his brother, John, as part of the elite group who has claimed TSSAA basketball state championships. This happened for him when Independence captured the program’s first state title in Class 4A.

Wilkins led the Eagles to a 53-44 win over Cookeville. Since being hired in 2021, Wilkins has won 91 games at Independence with two District 10-4A titles, two Region 5 titles, a state runner-up finish in 2023 and now his own state crown.

The Independence boys basketball team was also a finalist for Boys Team of the Year.

Only a handful of coaches in Middle Tennessee are as savvy, experienced, or as connected to their community as Smith.

The Byrdstown native, who helped the boys’ program capture the 1990 Class A title as a player, guided the girls’ program to its first state championship in 35 years with a 56-45 win over Moore County in the Class A final last March.

As a coach, Smith took two Pickett County boys teams to the state tournament in 2000 and 2001. Before this past season, he’d taken seven Lady Bobcats teams to state. But last March, his team ended the winless streak, beating Cloudland before going on to claim its first state title since 1989.

The Pickett County girls basketball team was also a finalist for Girls Team of the Year.

Monday night’s show packed in a sold out Marathon Music works, honoring nearly 300 student-athletes from across the Mid-State.

The Middle Tennessee High School Sports Awards is one of 20 regional shows held across the United States. It’s a nine-month student-athlete recognition program that recognizes athletes, coaches and teams from across the Mid State.

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