Vote: Who is the Florida Girls Basketball Class 5A Preseason Coach of the Year?

Here are 8 candidates for your voting consideration

Wildcats head coach Jade Brown instructs her players during the Mainland vs Washington girls 5A Regional Finals basketball game at Booker T. Washington High School in Pensacola on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. / Gregg Pachkowski / gregg@pnj.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

With the regular high school basketball season tipping off this week, High School On Si will send out preseason nominations, starting with Class 1A, and making our way through 7A. Voting will end on Wednesday, November 27 at 11:59 p.m. Any nominations can be sent to rossvdg14@gmail.com.

SBLive voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll. You can vote as often as you wish and are encouraged to share our polls with others. The use of voting bots and other forms of automated voting are not allowed. Individuals will be removed from the poll if any form of automated voting can be verified. - SBLive Sports

Here are the nominees:

Don Brown, Choctawhatchee

Brown has had a ton of success as the head coach at Choctawhatchee High School, where he looks to lead the Lady Indians to the state championship game for the first time since 2018. 

Jade Brown, Booker T. Washington (Pensacola)

Brown is entering her 13th season as the head girls’ basketball coach at Booker T. Washington. Brown led the Lady Wildcats to a 23-2 record in 2023-2024 where they reached the Class 5A, Region 1 Final. Leading the team this season will be 6-3 junior power forward Chamiah Francis.

Joeyn Dearsman, River Ridge

Dearsman led the Lady Knights to the school’s first-ever Final Four appearance in 2023-2024. Leading the team this season will be 6-1 senior forward Lauren Lee and 5-6 sophomore shooting guard Mya Greene.

Hannah Kotzen, Clearwater

Kotzen enters his first season as the head coach at Clearwater High School following Darian Dublin’s resignation after leading the Lady Tornadoes for the last six seasons. 

Peter Livingston, Wesley Chapel

Livingston is in his 11th season as the head girls’ basketball coach at Wesley Chapel High School. He led the Lady Wildcats to a 19-9 record in 2023-2024 reaching the Class 5A, Region 2 Quarterfinals. 

Mike Progl, Port Charlotte

Progl enters his 7th season as the head coach at Port Charlotte High School. Progl led the Lady Pirates to a 19-12 record in 2023-2024 reaching the Class 5A Semifinals. 

Gussie Solomon, Ridgeview

Solomon enters his second stint with the Lady Panthers where he led them to a 14-7 record last season. Leading the team this season will be 5-10 senior shooting guard Nacoya Blocton. 

Jessica Spencer-Gardner, Ponte Vedra

Spencer-Gardner led the Sharks to a 22-9 record in 2023-2024, reaching the Class 6A Semifinals before losing to Bloomingdale. Leading the team this season will be 5-9 junior guard Arhen Doherty, 5-6 freshman point guard Jocelyn Hoffman, and 5-7 sophomore point guard Camila Felsing.

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