Watertown grads Decker, Coyle & Stacey named new head coaches at Yankton High School

YANKTON — Watertown High School graduates Matt Decker, Robert Coyle III and Tayler (Corey) Stacey have been hired as new head coaches for the 2023-24 school year at Yankton High School.

Decker, a 2015 WHS graduate, will be the Gazelles' new head girls basketball coach; Coyle, a 2018 WHS graduate, the Bucks' new wrestling coach; and Stacey, a 2019 WHS graduate, the new head volleyball coach of the Gazelles.

Here's some more information on each of the coaches:

Matt Decker

Decker takes over a Yankton girls basketball team that went 2-18 this past winter and did not qualify for the Class AA SoDak 16.

He comes from line of educators that includes his mother Nancy, a sixth-grade teacher at the Watertown Intermediate School who has taught for 32 years, and his father John, who has also enjoyed a lengthy career in education that includes serving as the current principal at Jefferson Elementary in Watertown. He also spent time as the Arrows' head girls basketball coach.

Matt Decker lettered in football, basketball and track at WHS and started on the WHS boys basketball team that placed eighth in the 2015 state Class AA tournament. He attained his bachelor's degree in Secondary History Education and Coaching from the University of South Dakota in 2019.

He completed his student teaching in the Yankton School District, where he has taught social studies at the Yankton Middle School for four years while also serving as a volunteer, freshman and sophomore boys basketball coach and middle school and high school assistant football coach.

The 2023 Bucks won the state Class AA boys basketball title.

Coach Decker resides in Yankton with his wife Hannah and looks forward to growing the program and being part of a great basketball tradition in Yankton.

Robert Coyle III

Coyle, the son of the late Robert Coyle II and Lesly Block, participated in football and wrestling at Watertown High School. He wrestled under head coach Bob Hirsch and Chas Welch and was a three-time state placer, two-time Region 1A champion and two-time All-Eastern South Dakota Conference selection.

Coyle wrestled in the 106, 120 and 126-pound weight classes in high school and accumulated more than 100 career wins with the Arrows.

He continued his wrestling career at Northern State University in Aberdeen, competing for head coach Rocky Burkett for five years at 133, 141 and 157 pounds and earned many academic and athletic awards at NSU. Coyle's honors included NSU Most Improved Award, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Myles Brand All-Academic Award and the 2022 Britton-Kelly nominee for NSU. He was one of only 10 student-athletes to earned National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic team honors five times.

While competing for the Wolves, Coyle helped coach at youth wrestling camps and tournaments in Aberdeen and also served as clinician for the Watertown Booster Club along with fellow Watertown-NSU teammates Ty Althoff and Sam Stroup.

Coyle earned his Bachelor's degree in Special Education with an endorsement in coaching in 2022 and will graduate this spring with a Master's degree in the Accelerated Special Education program. He completed his student teaching at various schools in Aberdeen and in February, accepted a full-time substitute special education teaching position at May Overby Elementary School for the rest of the school year. He has accepted special education teaching position at Beadle Elementary School in Yankton starting this fall.

He replaces Riley Smith as the head coach of the Bucks, who went 3-14 in duals last winter and tied for 30th in the state Class A tournament.

Tayler Stacey

The daughter of Cam and and Sarah Corey of Watertown, Tayler is married to fellow Watertown High School graduate Logan Stacey.

At WHS, she served as the libero for the Arrows and helped lead Watertown teams to third- and fourth-place finishes in state Class AA volleyball tournaments. She earned All-Eastern South Dakota Conference honors as well as all-tourney honors at state.

She also played volleyball at Dakota State University in Madison and helped lead the Trojans to the national tournament.

Stacey graduated from DSU, where she majored in elementary education with minors in ESL, reading and technology.

She has coach for several Junior Olympic volleyball clubs including EAVC, Madison and Club Central and spent the last season as the head/assistant coach at Vermillion High School. The Tanagers finished 11-18.

Stacey replaces Chelsea Law as the head coach of the Gazelles who were 6-20 last fall and did not qualify for the SoDak 16.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on Twitter @PO_Sports.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Three Watertown High School grads get head coaching positions at Yankton