Vote for the Vermont high school coach of the year powered by Delta Dental

The 2025-26 Vermont high school sports year is in the books. Now, it’s time to vote for the coach of the year powered by Delta Dental.

Covering the fall, winter and spring seasons, Burlington Free Press sports reporters Alex Abrami and Judith Altneu tallied a list of 13 deserving coaches to be included on the ballot. Below, you’ll find quick briefs on each coach and why they were included.

Voting is unlimited until the poll closes at 9 p.m. on Thursday, July 16.

Read on and then vote away!

Bert Berthiaume has been a fixture in St. Albans helping BFA be known as the state’s top softball program. The 2026 season was no different as Berthiaume guided the Comets to their second straight undefeated season extending their winning streak to 35 games. Berthiaume earned his 12th D-I softball title after BFA defeated Colchester 2-1, with the Comets outscoring teams 186-22. In the fall, Berthiaume helped BFA girls volleyball team (14-3) reach the D-I championship game for the second straight season.

Longtime Bellows Falls field hockey head coach Bethany Coursen helped the Terriers capture their seventh title in 2025. Bellows Falls dropped down to D-II for the first time since 2017, but still cruised through the season capturing the top-seed. The Terriers (14-2-1) continued rolling throughout the playoffs defeating U-32 4-1 in the D-II championship game.

Under Hosea Crittenden, Lamoille boys basketball capped the program’s rebuild with its first title since the school district unified in 1967. And the Lancers did it with a memorable upset of No. 1 and previously unbeaten Hartford in the D-I final. In their first title game in 25 years, Crittenden’s Lancers played loose and confident to carve out a thrilling, 56-53 win at Barre Auditorium, wrapping a 20-4 campaign.

The state’s coach of the year, Amanda Hull trotted out a talented Woodstock girls lacrosse squad during the 2026 spring season. The Wasps racked up 263 goals and allowed 102 as they went 15-2 — both losses were to D-I finalist Burr and Burton — to claim the program’s first D-II crown since 2015. In the playoffs, Woodstock had a 45-18 goal differential capped by an 11-6 triumph over U-32 in the final.

After the program’s fourth straight losing season in her second year in charge, Vergennes girls soccer coach Morgan Kathan had her players and herself play in an offseason women’s league to build chemistry and culture. The plan worked: Kathan and the Commodores posted a 17-1 record in 2025, outscored opponents 86-14 with nine shutouts and seized the D-III crown with a 2-0 win over Peoples. It was Vergennes’ first crown in two decades.

Jen Liguori is the most successful volleyball coach in the state helping Essex extend its winning streak to 86 games. Liguori coached the most talented team in the state as the Hornets (17-0) secured their fifth straight undefeated season. Essex has won seven of the nine total D-I volleyball championships.

In her 15th season leading Rice field hockey, Kelly McClintock has helped develop some of the top talent in the state. Her team featured four D-I college commits with a mostly young core group of players who are returning next fall. McClintock guided the Green Knights (17-0) to their second straight title with a 4-2 win over Champlain Valley.

Despite an eight-loss regular season and the sixth seed for the D-I boys basketball playoffs, the Bobwhites went on a dream run and produced an unforgettable upset of No. 1 Rice to seize their first championship in 39 years. And Tristan Menard dialed up the right schemes. After surviving in the semifinals with an overtime win, BFA changed up its game plan and focused on a slower tempo without turning it over to stymie Rice. The result: A 54-48 decision to savor for a lifetime.

Longtime Spaulding wrestling coach Darren O’Meara and his Crimson Tide put to bed one of the nation’s longest championship streaks when they halted Mount Anthony’s 36-year title run in March. Having been the runner-up six times during MAU’s consecutive reign, Spaulding racked up the most total points in six years and scored grapplers in 12 of the 14 weight classes for its first state title since 1984.

In his 22nd year leading Colchester football, Tom Perry steered the Lakers to the D-II championship, the program’s first since 2009, with a 27-20 win over defending champion Fair Haven. The Lakers’ 8-3 record also included a road semifinal victory at Lyndon to reach their second title game in three seasons. And in the spring, Perry posted his 16th 10-plus win campaign in his final season as the Lakers’ baseball coach; Colchester fell in a semifinal classic at Essex but leaves as the program’s all-time winningest skipper.

The Metro Division’s coach of the year, Mark Pfaff helped Mount Mansfield girls basketball pull off its epic 22-point comeback in the D-I state championship game. Pfaff trusted his players refusing to call a timeout before Aly Dorman’s game winning shot giving the Cougars a 62-60 win over Rutland for their first title. This title is the culmination for Pfaff’s work building the Cougars program up from scratch in just eight years.

The girls Ultimate coach of the year, Ellen Taggart helped Milton claim its first title in epic fashion. The Yellowjackets avenged a blowout loss to Champlain Valley in the 2025 championship earning a 13-9 victory over the undefeated Redhawks. Behind Taggart’s leadership and willingness to incorporate zone defense, Milton was able to get its elusive win over CVU.

Patrick Zilkha and Burr and Burton boys soccer had been knocking on the door for a couple years before breaking through last fall with a 16-0-1 campaign and a 65-11 goal differential, capped by an overtime victory over two-time defending champion Champlain Valley in D-I final. It was BBA’s first D-I crown, and the first non-Chittenden County school in 25 years to claim the state’s top division.