Kalamazoo Valley CC Basketball Is Climbing The Ranks Again

For years, both the men's and women's Kalamazoo Valley CC basketball teams were one of the best in their perspective sport in the Midwest area. They would often win their conference regular season and/or post-season title while preparing student-athletes for the next level both on the floor and in the classroom.

After falling off the throne for a few years and some recent coaching changes, the Cougars are clawing their way back to the top. Jim Horn, who has spent almost a decade rebuilding his Cougars team, is finally seeing the fruits of his labor paying off while Felicia Thomas is having almost immediate success with the women's program.

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Climbing Cougars

Coach Felicia Thomas has returned home to lead the Kalamazoo Valley women's basketball team to success. After having a standout high school career at Kalamazoo Central and then playing ball for Wayne State at the collegiate level, it's now time for her to pass her skills on to the generations to follow.

In just her third season as the Cougars coach, Thomas has been named the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) Western Conference Coach of the Year. This season Thomas led the Cougars to their first winning season in 6 years with a 17-10 record. They also doubled their conference wins from the year before en route to a 10-2 conference record and a conference championship.

They had success in the postseason as well, making it to the Region 12 District C Tournament semifinal before losing to Delta College. Now that Thomas has brought her winning ways back to Kalamazoo, how will the Lady Cougars fare next year?

Cool Cougars Coaching

Jim Horn has spent the better half of a decade putting in work to change Kalamazoo Valley men's basketball and is finally receiving his flowers and recognition. After leading the Cougars to its second consecutive 20-win season, Horn was named the MCCAA Western Conference Coach of the Year.

During this season the Cougars would finish with a 23-7 record and match the Women's conference record of 10-2 before also falling in the Region 12 District C Tournament Semi-final except they would lose at the hands of Macomb Community College.

With a young team on campus and Horn looking to be heading into the prime of his career, it may be safe to say that the Cougars will continue to trend in the upwards direction.

With the Lady Cougars having Coach Thomas spreading her love and knowledge of the game and with the Men's team yielding Horn as their ferocious leader could we see the Cougars remain at the top of the food chain in the MCCAA like years before?