This should be one of the top jobs in western Kentucky if not the entire state. I’m very interested to see who all applies for this job. Coaching at what I expect will be the biggest school in the state and considering the level of talent that has come through Hopkinsville and Christian County prior to the merger should make this a very desirable position. 

Their new school will be the top job in the state imo. Combining Hoptown and Christian County!! All I can say is WOW! However, the right coach needs to be hired. I’ve seen a lot of talented teams not reach their potential due to poor coaching and mismanagement.

I will be a little surprised if they don't hire Coach Curtis from Christian County. He left a very successful program at Murray to move over there. 

On 3/11/2026 at 11:59 AM, sweet16 said:

I will be a little surprised if they don't hire Coach Curtis from Christian County. He left a very successful program at Murray to move over there. 

This is what I was thinking.  That it was a done deal when he came over a few years ago. 

5 hours ago, LethalPG said:

This is what I was thinking.  That it was a done deal when he came over a few years ago. 

I do agree Dior is probably the best man for the job knowing his history, but there was no done deal. The thing was that Coach Babb at Hopkinsville didn't really want to the consolidated job and being the coach at CCHS pretty much gave you an upper-hand. But a 21-37 record over 2 years has made it hard for him to have the job. I think they've got their eyes on someone else.

They're going to have people apply from all over the state for this job. But there's one name to watch.

When the Sweet 16 is over, Ryan Perry will emerge as their top target. Lyon County is a hard place to rebuild every year. He knows the talent at Christian County means he'll be able to compete every single year and never have a shortage of depth. And for a community that's not in favor of consolidation and they'll need something big to get people on board, bringing in a coach like him will go a long way because they'll be able to sell having a state championship winning coach.

But will Coach Perry feel the call to stay at a school where he's a legend? Or even just retire and watch his son play college basketball?

Does Coach Perry have another son coming along?

Coach Perry has a younger son that is in the 5th or 6th grade I believe.  He is not Travis in terms of his basketball skills but that’s a big ask of any kid at that age.   As far as his interest in the Christian County job, my guess is there is none.  He was able to capitalize on Lyon County’s once in a generation wave of talent (Perry, Reddick, Shoulders, Kirk) by attracting a move in like Nolan Coffman who undoubtedly put them over the top in the region this year.  It’s likely Perry will look to continue this trend at Lyon. He will look to build another group around his younger son, similar to what he did with Travis.  
With Jon Newton being a Webster County alum, and the baseball coach on teams where his son is a freshmen, I doubt he will have interest though he would be a great candidate.

Same for Tyler Smithhart at Henderson County.  He has a great group of players coming back and has developed one of the best feeder programs on this side of the state.  
My guess is, unless Tim Haworth wants to move back to Hopkinsville after their rocky departure or unless they can pluck someone from the college ranks with ties to the area, Dior Curtis will be their guy. 
 

 

The two basketball programs combine for a total 13 of the 2nd Region titles in the 21st century, plus one title in the Boys Sweet 16.

Second Region Champions
2000 - Hopkins County Central
2001 - Madisonville-North Hopkins
2002 - Christian County
2003 - Hopkinsville
2004 - University Heights
2005 - University Heights
2006 - Christian County
2007 - Christian County
2008 - University Heights
2009 - Christian County
2010 - Christian County
2011 - Christian County *
2012 - Hopkinsville
2013 - Hopkinsville
2014 - Hopkinsville
2015 - Hopkinsville
2016 - Christian County
2017 - Hopkinsville
2018 - University Heights
2019 - Madisonville-North Hopkins
2020 - Madisonville-North Hopkins
2021 - University Heights
2022 - Lyon County
2023 - Lyon County
2024 - Lyon County *
2025 - Henderson County
2026 - Lyon County

* Boys Sweet 16 Champions

2 hours ago, 2nd and Goal said:

Coach Perry has a younger son that is in the 5th or 6th grade I believe.  He is not Travis in terms of his basketball skills but that’s a big ask of any kid at that age.   As far as his interest in the Christian County job, my guess is there is none.  He was able to capitalize on Lyon County’s once in a generation wave of talent (Perry, Reddick, Shoulders, Kirk) by attracting a move in like Nolan Coffman who undoubtedly put them over the top in the region this year.  It’s likely Perry will look to continue this trend at Lyon. He will look to build another group around his younger son, similar to what he did with Travis.  
With Jon Newton being a Webster County alum, and the baseball coach on teams where his son is a freshmen, I doubt he will have interest though he would be a great candidate.

Same for Tyler Smithhart at Henderson County.  He has a great group of players coming back and has developed one of the best feeder programs on this side of the state.  
My guess is, unless Tim Haworth wants to move back to Hopkinsville after their rocky departure or unless they can pluck someone from the college ranks with ties to the area, Dior Curtis will be their guy. 
 

 

I'm not going to reveal to the extent of what I know, but the interest is real with Ryan. And in all honesty it would be perfectly normal for him to think about it. My thought is that he does not want people to know, but its out now and I think Lyon will make a big play to keep him.

And he's had interest in coming here for a while. He had serious talks about coming to UHA when Travis was playing. It did not work out, but there were talks.

Tyler Smithhart's dream job was always Henderson. remember he took over Christian County right after Stovall retired. But Kerry Stovall is the AD for Christian County Public Schools and he is Smithhart's mentor. That would be the only thing that would get his interest. But I just personally think Tyler won't be returning to the area

Jon Newton, he was an assistant at Hoptown years ago. But idk if he'd be interested. The alure of having that kind of talent would be very tempting. Every coach wants to win a state title and go down as a legend in the KHSAA. This new school will give him that chance.

At one point Hoptown had Jon Newton, Tim Haworth, and Anthony Babb as their assistant coaches and Tyler Smithart was an assistant at Christian County at the same time. A lot of great head coaching talent all as assistants.

They should just hire Dior Curtis from ….Christian County.  He did an outstanding job at Murray High!   I think when he got to Christian the cupboard was bare.  I don’t think they’ll be able to find a better hire.  Just my opinion.   

On 3/13/2026 at 6:45 AM, PTown Dad said:

They should just hire Dior Curtis from ….Christian County.  He did an outstanding job at Murray High!   I think when he got to Christian the cupboard was bare.  I don’t think they’ll be able to find a better hire.  Just my opinion.   

The job has been filled and will be announced on Friday. I do not believe Dior got the job.

Will be a very familiar name for Region 2 fans with a lot of success. It's not Ryan Perry, but will probably enter the region as the best coach. Won't spoil it, but it should be obvious for those who know.

20 minutes ago, GoBlazers270 said:

The job has been filled and will be announced on Friday. I do not believe Dior got the job.

Will be a very familiar name for Region 2 fans with a lot of success. It's not Ryan Perry, but will probably enter the region as the best coach. Won't spoil it, but it should be obvious for those who know.

Just one quick question, has he coached in the 2nd before?

On 3/11/2026 at 11:45 AM, The Professor said:

Their new school will be the top job in the state imo. Combining Hoptown and Christian County!! All I can say is WOW! However, the right coach needs to be hired. I’ve seen a lot of talented teams not reach their potential due to poor coaching and mismanagement.

Will this new combined school have a new name or just be called Christian County and what will probable enrollment be? Has this been something in the making for years or are there a lot against it? Thanks.

I’m just one region over so I know a lot of these answers.  It will still be Christian Co but I think they are using Hopkinsville’s mascot and maybe colors too?  
I recall this was announced shortly before COVID but then the building costs doubled when the pandemic hit. 
Should be one of the biggest schools in KY and a lot of good athletes in that area

I’ll be soft on this one - the announcement many years ago and then the resulting limbo of when the merger will happen I think has hurt these two schools some.  But now I think they’ll come roaring back!