Bullitt East's Keegan Kendrick named Courier Journal Kentucky Football Coach of the Year

In the span of a year, Keegan Kendrick got his first head-coaching job, became a first-time father and won a state championship.

Where to go from here?

“I think the smart thing to do would be to retire,” Kendrick, 28, said with a laugh. “Just get out before it gets any worse.”

Life is good for the Bullitt East High School football coach, who still is basking in the glow of the Chargers’ first state championship. Bullitt East beat Male 28-27 on Dec. 3 in the Class 6A final.

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Coaches around the state have taken notice of Kendrick’s accomplishments, voting him The Courier Journal’s Kentucky High School Football Coach of the Year.

Kendrick received 30 votes from the 113 coaches who submitted ballots. Ballard’s Adrian Morton was the runner-up with 11 votes and was followed by Frederick Douglass’ Nathan McPeek (eight), Corbin’s Tom Greer (eight), Metcalfe County’s L.J. Harbison (six) and Somerset’s Robbie Lucas (six).

Bullitt East became just the second school from outside of Louisville to win the title in Kentucky’s largest football class. Scott County was the first, winning the 6A title in 2013.

“I think a lot of people were pulling for us,” Kendrick said. “The fact this gets done so little in 6A is a big deal. People are believing in the little guy right now. I think this award is a manifestation of that. I feel super grateful we could give other people in the state a lot of belief.”

Kendrick is a 2013 Boyle County High School graduate and played four seasons of football as a defensive end at Lindsey Wilson.

He briefly considered studying pre-med before realizing his heart was in coaching and teaching.

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“After my freshman year of college taking classes in a couple of different areas, I realized coaching is what my heart wanted to do moreso than a career that would make a little more money,” Kendrick said.

After graduation, he spent two seasons (2017-18) as an assistant coach at Southwestern before joining the Bullitt East staff in 2019. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2021 and then named head coach for this season after the departure of Ethan Atchley.

Bullitt East athletic director Kenny Hughes said Kendrick’s pedigree and knowledge were big factors in him getting the job.

“Our goal in Mount Washington is to create community-based sports programs,” Hughes said. “I don’t want kids walking into Bullitt East and that’s the first time they’ve heard of Bullitt East. I want kids to grow up wanting to be a Bullitt East Charger. That starts at the youth level, and Keegan really understood that.”

Around the time he was interviewing for the job, Kendrick and his wife, Amber, found out they would be having their first child in August.

“There were a lot of emotions and decisions,” Kendrick said of becoming a head coach. “We just thought, ‘If we’re going to do it down the road, we might as well try it now.’ We realized this year was going to be chaotic.”

Expectations were high entering the season, but the Chargers hit a roadblock in their season opener, falling to Spencer County 19-16. The Kendrick’s daughter, Josie, had been born four days before that game.

While the loss raised eyebrows among some observers across the state, Hughes said he didn’t panic.

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“Anybody that knew anything knew that he just had a baby and it’s his first child,” Hughes said. “My goodness. The timing of it all just made it difficult and challenging for him. There was no community-wide meltdown. We knew we had a good squad.”

The Chargers righted the ship with a 43-0 rout of North Bullitt for Kendrick’s first victory as a head coach and never looked back. A 24-17 victory over Male on Oct. 21 gave the Chargers confidence entering the playoffs. A 36-35 win over Manual in the second round had many declaring Bullitt East a “Team of Destiny,” and the championship victory over Male confirmed it.

Kendrick said his background at Boyle County, Lindsey Wilson and Southwestern gave him confidence throughout the journey.

“I coach because I want to replicate my experience at Boyle County for the kids I’m fortunate enough to coach,” Kendrick said. “When we come back and see the community around us and bring the championship trophy and order rings, we feel the sense of pride and accomplishment. To me, that’s extremely fulfilling because I’ve done the job I set out to do this year.”

Receiving Coach of the Year honors in each class were Kendrick (Class 6A), Bowling Green’s Mark Spader (5A),  Corbin’s Tom Greer (4A), Greenup County’s Zack Moore (3A), Metcalfe County’s L.J. Harbison (2A) and Pikeville’s Chris McNamee (A).

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @kyhighs.

Courier Journal Kentucky High School Football Coaches of the Year

1944 – Ralph Mills, Hopkinsville; 1945 – Ray Herndon, Frankfort; 1946 – Tom Ellis, Covington Holmes; 1947 – Ralph McRight, Paducah Tilghman; 1948 – Mike Basrak, Manual; 1949 – Paulie Miller, Flaget; 1950 – Doc Ferrell, Prestonsburg; 1951 – Nick Denes, Male; 1952 – Miller, Flaget; 1953 – Sam Potter, Lynch; 1954 – Ed Rutledge, Danville; 1955 – Bill Tucker, Corbin.

1956 – Johnny Meihaus, St. Xavier; 1957 – Fred Clayton, Caldwell County; 1958 – Jim Pickens, Bowling Green; 1959 – Don Shelton, Henderson; 1960 – (tie) Miller, Flaget, and Homer Rice, Highlands; 1961 – Roy Kidd, Madison; 1962 – (tie) Meihaus, St. Xavier, and Fleming Thornton, Hopkinsville; 1963 – John Snowden, Lafayette; 1964 – Charlie Kuhn, Male; 1965 – Thornton, Hopkinsville; 1966 – Charlie Bentley, Manual; 1967 – Virgil Rains, Mayfield.

1968 – Mike Murphy, Highlands; 1969 – Leon Dunagan, St. Xavier; 1970 – Jim Kennedy, Trinity; 1971 – Jim Gray, Thomas Jefferson; 1972 – Roy Walton, Tates Creek; 1973 – Dan Haley, Paducah Tilghman; 1974 – Bill Glaser, St. Xavier; 1975 – James Mathews, Franklin-Simpson; 1976 – Wilson Sears, Bowling Green; 1977 – Garnis Martin, Bardstown; 1978 – Jack Morris, Mayfield; 1979 – Joe Hood, Butler.

1980 – Marshall Patterson, Fort Campbell; 1981 – Jake Bell, Henry Clay; 1982 – Bill Herrmann, Highlands; 1983 – Ken Barrett, Russellville; 1984 – Tom Duffy, Danville; 1985 – (tie) Jim Cullivan, Cawood, and Mike Fletcher, Fairdale; 1986 – Sam Harp, Anderson County; 1987 – Allan Cox, Paducah Tilghman; 1988 – Steve Haag, Manual; 1989 – Joe Hood, Warren Central; 1990 – Dennis Lampley, Trinity; 1991 – Don Danko, Clark County.

1992 – Lynn Ray, Covington Catholic; 1993 – Sam Harp, Danville; 1994 – Tom Duffy, Henderson County; 1995 – Mike Holcomb, Breathitt County; 1996 – Paul Leahy, Mayfield; 1997 – Dudley Hilton, Bourbon County; 1998 – Dale Mueller, Highlands; 1999 – Chuck Smith, Boyle County; 2000 – Smith, Boyle County. 2001 – Smith, Boyle County; 2002 – Bob Beatty, Trinity; 2003 – Philip Haywood, Belfry.

2004 – Smith, Boyle County; 2005 – Kevin Wallace, Bowling Green; 2006 – Jim Matney, Johnson Central; 2007 – Jack Haskins, Lone Oak; 2008 – Steve Lovelace, Christian County; 2009 – Luke Salmons, Lawrence County; 2010 – Brad Hood, Allen County-Scottsville; 2011 – (tie) Beatty, Trinity; Haywood, Belfry; 2012 – Haywood, Belfry; 2013 – Shawn Thompson, Wayne County; 2014 – Preston King, Iroquois; 2015 – Haywood, Belfry

2016 – Haywood, Belfry; 2017 – Todd Adler, Logan County; 2018 – Rob Reader, Moore; 2019 – Smith, Boyle County; 2020 - Brent Thompson, North Hardin; 2021 – Matney, Johnson Central; 2022 – Keegan Kendrick, Bullitt East

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Bullitt East's Kendrick named CJ's Kentucky Football Coach of the Year