Matt Beshear celebrates after winning the Madisonville's second straight region basketball title (YourSportsEdge.com photo)
Madisonville-North Hopkins High School is looking for a new boys’ basketball coach after Matt Beshear stepped down Wednesday to make a move into school administration.
Beshear was 167-81 in eight seasons as Maroons’ coach and was named the 2020 region coach of the year. Madisonville went 31-3 in 2019-20, winning a second straight region title for the first time since 1989. The Maroons were scheduled to play Warren Central in the first round of the Sweet 16, but COVID-19 shut down the basketball season before the state tournament could be played.
Beshear will be moving into an assistant principal’s position at Hanson Elementary School where he began his teaching career.
“The timing was right,” Beshear said. “I taught eight years at Hanson before I moved over to Madisonville to teach and take over the boys’ basketball program. I wasn’t really looking to get out, but it was an ideal situation, in that I started my teaching career there and my oldest daughter is entering the third grade and my youngest will be there in a few years.”
Madisonville won the Seventh District title all eight seasons with Beshear on the bench and advanced to the region title game three straight years.
Madisonville Athletic Director Brian Bivens said the coaching job has been posted and applications will be accepted for about two weeks. A search committee will be formed to name the next basketball coach. Bivens said Madisonville’s tradition and recent success makes the job a “viable one” that could attract successful coaches from both in and out of the state.
Despite losing four starters from last year’s team, the Maroons are expected to return some key players that put them in the race for a region title in 2020-21.
