KCHS football coach Cokinos steps down

Former Irish coach Steve Matthews and longtime prep coach Philip Shadowens

Dean Cokinos, named head coach of the Knoxville Catholic High School football team Dec. 22, stepped down this summer shortly before practices began for the 2023 season.

“Coach Cokinos won’t have the opportunity to move to Knoxville with his family, unfortunately, so we have named Steve Matthews and Philip Shadowens co-interim head football coaches,” said a KCHS spokesperson.

Mr. Matthews, a former KCHS head coach for eight seasons, will lead the Fighting Irish offense while Mr. Shadowens—a longtime head coach himself—directs the defense. Both were hired as KCHS assistants early this year after Mr. Cokinos was named head coach.

Mr. Cokinos had been the head coach of arena football teams in Washington, D.C., New Orleans, and Atlanta; worked in international football operations and as a head coach in Germany; coached in the collegiate level at UMass, Austin Peay, and West Alabama; and coached special teams and linebackers at Brentwood Academy and Ensworth in Nashville in the last three seasons. His head coaching regular-season record is

165-86-1, with an 11-6 postseason record. His teams qualified for the playoffs 13 times, appeared in the semifinals seven times, and were five-time conference champions and twice league champions. Mr. Cokinos succeeded Korey Mobbs as Knoxville Catholic’s head coach after the latter resigned following two seasons at the helm.

Mr. Matthews coached the Fighting Irish from 2013-20. He resigned in spring 2021 after an arrest on DUI and drug charges. He won two state championships at KCHS, in 2015 and 2017. Mr. Shadowens captured two state titles at Smyrna

Knoxville Catholic names former player as new softball head coach

Knoxville Catholic High School on July 10 announced the hiring of Hannah SeaverLogan as the new head softball coach for the Lady Irish.

Mrs. Seaver-Logan graduated from Knoxville Catholic in 2012 and was a four-year starter at KCHS under head coach Sarah Fekete Bailey and went on to play collegiately at Carson-Newman University for head coach Vickie Kazee-Hollifield.

After suffering a knee injury in college, Mrs. Seaver-Logan chose to switch her focus to coaching, where she began her career as Knoxville Central High School’s varsity assistant during the 2014 and 2015 seasons, helping the team to a substate appearance in 2014. After that, she moved to South-Doyle High School in Knoxville, where she served as pitching coordinator and JV head coach.

In fall 2019, Mrs. Seaver-Logan became the head coach of Christian Academy of Knoxville’s middle school softball program, winning Cityview magazine’s middle school coach-of-the-year award in 2020. She then took over as the high school head coach for the Warriors in 2021. In the last two years the Warriors posted a record of 36-14. The Warriors saw two players sign with Division 1 schools, Emma Bethel (Eastern Kentucky University) and Addison Smith (Samford University). The team boasted a cumulative team GPA over 3.0 and advanced to the second round of regional-tournament play in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2017.

“I am honored and humbled to have received the opportunity to return to KCHS as their softball coach,” Mrs. Seaver-Logan said.

“My sophomore year at KCHS in 2011, former Lady Vol and Team USA member Sarah Bailey became our head coach and laid the foundation for this program. Her competitive coaching, exceedingly high expectations, and breadth of knowledge redefined KCHS softball. I am forever grateful for her influence on me in those years.

I’m looking forward to presenting this Lady Irish team with the same challenge as we prepare for this season—we’re going to love each other, work hard, have some fun, and hopefully pick up a few wins along the way. Go Irish!” n In other KCHS news, former University of Tennessee basketball player JaJuan Smith has joined the coaching staff of the Fighting Irish boys team. n

Mrs. Seaver-Logan and her husband, James Logan, welcomed baby boy Toa Logan in 2022.

named co-head coaches

By Dan McWilliams

during his head-coaching career. He has also served as head coach of Middle Tennessee Christian School in Murfreesboro, Blackman in Murfreesboro, William Blount in Maryville, and most recently at Eagleton College and Career Academy in Maryville. His career head coaching record is 196-134.

The Fighting Irish kick off the season at home Aug. 18 against Lakeway Christian of White Pine. Knoxville Catholic will be in a rugged Division II-AAA East Region made even tougher with the addition of Lipscomb Academy, which won the state title last year at the

Division II-AA level. Also in Division II-AAA with KCHS are Baylor School of Chattanooga, Brentwood Academy, McCallie School of Chattanooga, and Montgomery Bell Academy of Nashville.

The Fighting Irish will play their region opponents in the last five weeks of the season. Before that are a road game at Brevard, N.C., on Aug. 25; a home game against St. John Paul II of Huntsville, Ala., on Sept. 1; a road contest at Ensworth on Sept. 8; and a home game against Briarcrest Christian of Eads, Tenn., on Sept. 15. The region games follow an open date Sept. 22. n

Notre Dame student completes summer business program

Rising senior Amare DaSilva of Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga completed the BETS program at University of Tennessee at Knoxville. The Business Education for Talented Students is a 10-day summer program where students attend workshops in accounting, finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, supply-chain management, business analytics, and professional development, taught by university faculty and staff.