In just his second year at the helm, Daviess County’s tennis Head Coach, Dylan McDuffee, has been named the 2026 KYHSTCA Girls Tennis Coach of the Year.
“I cannot believe it. I have to give credit to my entire team,” McDuffee said. Those girls have pushed me to get better every day. I thought it would take a lot longer to be recognized like this. I really didn’t expect to be honored this early.”
McDuffee and the Lady Panthers have lost only two matches this season, winning their second straight 3rd Region Championship title. They also recently advanced to the semi-finals of the 2026 KHSAA Team Tennis State Championships.
“I knew we had a strong girls’ team going into last year,” McDuffee said. They had been with the previous coach for a long time. They were ready and he left me in a good spot with the girls where I could just step right in.”
McDuffee acknowledged that since taking over the program as head coach at the start of the 2025 season, he owes plenty of his team’s success to team captain Emmie Kate Williams.
“Even when I played high school or college, I never had a team captain that made us such a team,” McDuffee said. “She was great at getting all of the younger and new girls involved. She made sure they were never left out, and she is just a blessing on the team.”
