Effective for just the 2022-23 winter season, the Centralia College women’s basketball program has been suspended due to coaching turnover and roster flux, the Centralia College Athletic Department announced in a press release this fall.
After previous coach Caleb Sells stepped down following last season, the Trailblazers made a preliminary decision to hire Richard Ward, a coach with midwest ties, to lead the program this season. Ward, however, decided to not accept the position and make the move, leaving Centralia College in an awkward position without a coach on the eve of preseason practice.
“Due to circumstances, we were unable to sign anyone during the process of a late coaching change and with the recent resignation of our new coach, women's basketball simply did not have the number of players to start and compete this season,” the college said in a statement.
CC has already hired a new coach for the 2023-24 season, anointing Tiffany Twiddy to lead the program after spending last year as acting head coach at Pacific Lutheran University.
Twiddy is a former South Sound Conference coach of the year at Capital High School in Olympia, and also had assistant coaching stints at South Puget Sound Community College and Black Hills High School, and a previous head coaching stint at Shelton High School.
The Blazers have a strong tradition of women’s hoops in Centralia, where they have sent numerous athletes off to Division I universities and competed regionally with local competitors. Paige Winter, a Rochester High School standout, recently transferred from Centralia College to Division I Portland State University.
“Centralia College Administration and the Athletic Program will do everything in our power to make sure we come back better than ever for the 2023-2024 season,” reads the statement. “We are truly saddened by the events that have taken place.”
