Congratulations to the Coaches who have been selected for induction into the MAC Hall of Fame!
The 2026 MAC Hall of Fame Banquet is scheduled for Friday, June 19, 2026 at 6 PM at the Sheraton Refuge Hotel in Flowood, MS.
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Coach Justin Chaney
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Coach Justin Chaney is a 26-year veteran championship softball coach at Newton County who led his teams to 17 state championships and over 900 wins. Born in Meridian, Justin was a star baseball player at Newton County High who played in the Crossroads Diamond Club All-Star game in 1997. He continued his baseball career at East Central Community College in Decatur where he was a member of the 1998 East Central state championship team and served as captain on the 1999 baseball squad. Coach Chaney completed his education at Mississippi State and began his 26-year coaching career in 1999. He spent his entire coaching career at his alma mater at Newton County where he began as an assistant football and softball coach before taking over the softball program as head coach. Justin worked two stints as an assistant football coach and was in charge of softball for over 21 seasons. Coach Chaney guided the Cougars in slow and fast pitch softball garnering over 950 victories. Justin paced Newton County in 648 fast pitch games with a record of 502 wins, 146 losses and 1 tie for a winning mark of 77%. He led the slow pitch squad in 549 games to a mark of 454 wins, 95 losses, and no ties for a winning percentage of 82%. Under his tutelage, Newton County claimed 10 slow pitch state titles and 7 fast pitch crowns for a total of 17 state championships in classes 3A and 4A. His slow pitch squads were state runner-ups four times and his fast pitch teams were two-time state runner-ups. On six occasions he led his slow and fast pitch teams to state championships in the same season. In addition to his coaching success, Coach Chaney served as athletic director at Newton County for five years leading a staff of 45, 650 students, and an athletic budget of $200,000. Under his direction as AD, he had 4 teams win a state title with several individual state champions in tennis. Justin is a five-time MAC coach of the year, a two-time NFHS state coach of the year, a Max Preps Medium School Coach of the year, and the National Softball coach of the year in 2019 by the NHSACA. Coach Chaney has served his profession in several capacities as a member of the MAC Board of Directors, Vice President, and a term as MAC President in 2023. He was a longtime member of the MAC Softball Committee having served in that capacity from 2005 to 2022. He has been a clinic speaker for the MAC and the NHSAA. Coach Chaney has always been an active part of the community as he serves as a Deacon at the Hickory Baptist Church and coached travel ball squads and youth league teams at Beulah Hubbard. He coached his daughter Hannah in softball and his son Jordan in football. |
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Coach Jud Gartman
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Coach Jud Gartman is a successful championship football coach who guided programs at West Lauderdale, Enterprise Clarke, Lamar, and Clarkdale for over four decades. A native of New Orleans, Judson Eugene Gartman was an all-conference quarterback at Enterprise where his teams captured the Sam Dale conference title in 1966 and 1967. The WMOX Player of the Year for 1967-68 played football at Jones College and achieved his college degrees at Southern Miss and Mississippi State. Coach Gartman began his coaching career in 1975. He spent 35 years coaching in public schools with 5 seasons coaching in private schools for a total of 40 years. Jud started his career as an assistant football coach at West Lauderdale in 1975, but was quickly named head coach in 1977. He arrived at Enterprise Clarke in 1980 where he would serve 23 seasons as head football coach and athletic director. Coach Gartman’s greatest success on the gridiron happened during his head coaching days with the Bulldogs. He led Enterprise Clarke to 7 district crowns, 3 South State titles, and two state championships in 1986 and 1987. His 1986 and 1987 Bulldog teams had identical 13-0 records for the 2 state crowns. Jud coached his football teams in 365 games with 201 wins, 161 losses, and 3 ties for a 56% winning mark. As athletic director, he was responsible for a 9 person athletic staff and 250 students. He allowed every coach to take care of their sports and he would handle all problems that might arise. In his own words, football took care of the slack if a certain sport was low in funds. Coach Gartman served as an assistant coach under Mac Barnes on two occasions and was part of two state championships staffs in 2003 and 2013. He coached 7 seasons at Clarkdale from 2004 to 2010 before returning to Lamar from 2011 to 2015. Jud was assistant coach in 1986 and head coach in 1987 in the Bernard Blackwell All-Star football classic. He served as an assistant coach in the 1988 Mississippi/Alabama All-Star football classic. He was named district coach of the year on 7 occasions and selected as the Meridian Star football coach of the year in 1987 and 1989. Coach Gartman was a member of the MAC football committee and was a speaker in clinics at West Alabama. Jud is a longtime member of the Enterprise Baptist Church and, along with his wife Gayla, taught a young married class for 10 years. Coach Gartman has had many opportunities to leave, but he is a self described homebody who remained in the area in the best interests of his family. |
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Coach Leslie Pool
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Veteran championship football Coach Leslie Pool spent his entire 25-year career guiding the gridiron program for the Olive Branch Conquistadors. Born in Memphis, Leslie graduated from Hernando High where he was Mr. Hernando High and Most Athletic in 1966. After serving a stint in the U. S. Army from 1970 to 1971, he completed his college education at Delta State in 1973. He arrived at Olive Branch in 1974 and served two years as assistant football coach and head baseball coach before taking over as head football coach and athletic director for the next 23 years until 1998. Coach Pool saw his school grow from 465 students in the 1970’s to over 1,200 students in the 1990’s with a 10 person athletic staff. From 1976 to 1998, Coach Pool built a North Mississippi football powerhouse. He coached Olive Branch in 251 games winning 181, losing 69 with one tie for a 74% winning mark. His Quistors captured 10 district and division titles, 7 Chickasaw Conference crowns, and had 3 North State runner-up finishes, and 2 state semifinal appearances in 1987 and 1988. He guided his teams to playoff appearances in 11 out of 18 seasons. His 1987 and 1996 teams were undefeated and out of 23 seasons, Coach Pool only had 2 losing seasons in 1995 and 1998. Ten of Leslie’s teams lost only 1 game in the regular season and out of those 10 teams, 6 of the losses were less than a touchdown from perfection. Coach Pool’s teams had an exceptional record against neighboring schools as Olive Branch won 14 DeSoto County titles with marks of 14-6-1 against Southaven, 17-2 against Horn Lake (including a streak of 17 straight wins from 1976 to 1992), and a mark of 17-2 against his alma mater Hernando Tigers. He had 7 unbeaten home seasons and his regular season record at home was 108-27-1. His success on the field brought great recognition to Coach Pool as he was a 7-time Chickasaw Conference Coach of the Year. Leslie served as an All-Star baseball coach for the North in 1978 and was an assistant football coach in the 1981 Bernard Blackwell All-Star Football Classic. A longtime MAC member, off the field Coach Pool worked with the City of Olive Branch during the summer with the parks and recreation department. In addition to his MAC Hall of Fame honors, Leslie is a member of the Olive Branch City Hall of Fame and the football field at Olive Branch High is named in his honor as Pool Field. |
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Coach Andy Richey
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Coach Andy Richey is a renowned softball coach who has coached and taught for 37 years. Born in Tupelo, Andrew (Andy) Wayne Richey is a 1981 graduate of Saltillo High who achieved his college degree from Mississippi State in 1985. He began his 37-year coaching career in 1989 by serving as an assistant coach at Northeast Mississippi Community College. He continued as an assistant football and head track coach at Houston, West Point, and Okolona before arriving at Thrasher in 1998. He guided the Thrasher football, track, and baseball programs for the next 7 seasons as head coach, and then took over at Wheeler as head softball coach and athletic director. Andy led the Wheeler Eagles in slow and fast pitch softball for 15 years. During his tenure at Wheeler, the Eagles claimed 6 slow pitch and 5 fast pitch division titles for a total of 11 division crowns. His 2010 Eagles slow pitch team had a record of 30-7 with a division title, a North half crown, and a state runner-up finish. Andy’s 2011 fast pitch Wheeler squad won a division title and was North half runner-up. Coach Richey then took over at Tupelo Christian for 2 years, worked at Jumpertown for a season, and returned to Thrasher for the last three seasons. Overall, Andy coached in 805 slow pitch and fast pitch games claiming 430 wins with 375 losses for a 54% winning mark. Coach Richey is a 13-time division coach of the year with 6 slow pitch honors and 7 fast pitch accolades. He was the 2010 North Mississippi Softball Coaches Association slow pitch softball coach of the year and received that organization’s fast pitch coach of the year honors 12 times from 2012 to 2024. Andy is a five-time MAC All-Star coach with 2 for slow pitch and 3 for fast pitch. In 2023, Coach Richey received the prestigious MAC Roy Garcia Outstanding Coach of the Year award. Andy has been a member of the MAC his entire career and has served on the North Mississippi softball committee, the MAC Softball Committee, and was MAC Vice President and President from 2014 to 2016. He has always been an active member of the community as an acting elder for the Covenant Presbyterian Church and he worked for the Booneville City Parks as director of baseball, softball, soccer, and the umpires during the summer months. |
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Coach Larry Watkins
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As a 49-year veteran championship baseball coach, Larry Watkins has guided successful programs for the Petal Panthers and the Sacred Heart Crusaders. A native of Meridian, Larry lettered in baseball and basketball at Meridian High, was awarded the Skewes Award as Most Athletic, and was a member of the 1971 Meridian state baseball championship team. He played basketball and baseball at Meridian Junior College and played baseball at Delta State. Larry received his college degrees from Meridian Junior College, Delta State, and William Carey. Coach Watkins launched his distinguished 49-year career in 1977 at Petal High where he achieved his greatest coaching success. He guided the Panthers to 6 state runner-up finishes and 6 state championships—4 in class 4A and 2 in Class 6A. Coach Watkins is one of the winningest coaches in Mississippi high school baseball ranks as he coached in 1,327 games and his teams claimed 992 wins with only 335 losses. He coached at Petal for 42 years, serving 21 of those seasons as athletic director. Larry arrived at Sacred Heart in 2020 and has been guiding the Crusader diamond program for the last 7 years. Larry has served his profession with great distinction as he is a longtime member of the MAC. He is also a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association and the National High School Baseball Coaches Association. He has served as president of the National Baseball Coaches Association and the MHSAA Athletic Directors. Additionally, Coach Watkins served on the National High School Baseball Coaches Association Ranking Committee and the Field of the Year Committee. He has been a clinic speaker for the MAC and the Easton Baseball Coaches. He was an associate scout for the Kansas City Royals from 1989 to 1999. Larry is a four-time All-Star coach with the Crossroads Diamond Club All-Star Game and led Team USA to a gold medal in an international tournament in Taiwan in 1999. Among his many coach of the year awards, Coach Watkins is a three-time coach of the year for the Southern District National High School Baseball Coaches Association and, in 2010, he was named the National High School Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association. In addition to MAC Hall of Fame Honors, Coach Watkins has been inducted into the Crossroads Diamond Club Hall of Fame, the Delta State Coaches Hall of Fame, and the National High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2017.
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