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The Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association has announced Coach of the Year and Coaching Achievement awards for the 2024-25 season.

Headlining the list were the High School Coach of the Year recipients.

The Kimberly girls basketball team put together one of the best seasons we've seen in Division 1, as the Papermakers captured a dominating Fox Valley Association title, going a perfect 18-0 in league play. Head coach David Lepisto guided the team to a 29-1 overall record in just his third season leading the program, as the Papermakers would go on to capture the Division 1 state title, defeating league foe Appleton East in the semi-finals and topping Muskego in the championship games, winning both by at least 20 points.

The boys Coach of the Year honor is shared by Wisconsin Lutheran's Ryan Walz and Cochrane-Fountain City's Jesse Cyrus. Wisconsin Lutheran won a Division 2 state title in 2024 but lost Mr. Basketball, Duke star, and expected NBA lottery pick Kon Knueppel to graduation heading into 2024-25. Not only that, the Vikings were elevated to Division 1 by the Tournament Performance Factor process. No problem for the Vikings and Walz, who won a Woodland-West title and advanced to the Division 1 state tournament. Wisconsin Lutheran won a pair of thrillers, beating Oshkosh North 58-57 and Marshfield 57-55 to claim the title, finishing 28-2 overall.

Jesse Cyrus of Cochrane-Fountain City helped the Pirates to just the second state tournament appearance in state history. The team won the Dairyland-Small title and captured the top seed in the Division 5 state tourney field. After dispatching Turtle Lake 66-54 in the semi-finals, the Pirates capped off a 28-2 season with a 60-54 victory over Sheboygan Lutheran, winning the first state championship in school history.

For the full list of WBCA Coach of the Year and Coaching Achievement Awards, please see below.

High School Boys:  Ryan Walz, Wisconsin Lutheran & Jesse Cyrus, Cochrane-Fountain City
High School Girls:  David Lepisto, Kimberly
College D-1 Men:  Greg Gard, Wisconsin
College D-1 Women:  Kayla Karius, UW-Green Bay
College D-2 Men: N/A
College D-2 Women: Jen Conely, UW-Parkside
College D3 Men (Public):  Jeff Gard, UW-Platteville
College D3 Men (Private):  Aaron Aanonsen, Wisconsin Lutheran
College D3 Women (Public): Brad Fischer, UW-Oshkosh
College D3 Women (Private): Lauren Busalacchi, Ripon
Junior College Mens: Charles Ruffing, Bryant & Stratton
Junior College Womens: N/A

BOYS

D1-Steve Maselter, Sun Prairie East
D2-Nick Roeglin, Waterford
D3-Thomas Mackey, Amery
D4-Chris Lindert, Pardeeville
D5-Mike Uppena, Potosi

GIRLS

D1-Brandon Fanning, Eau Claire Memorial
D2-Melissa Ouimette, Lakeland
D3-Nick Mechele, Wittenberg-Birnamwood
D4-Mike Behnke, Manitowoc Lutheran
D5-Allison Smaglik, Pacelli

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.