Gift Revealed at the October 16th Board Meeting, No Additional Details Provided

During the Yavapai Community College District Governing Board meeting held on October 16, 2023, it was revealed that a substantial gift was made  to the Athletic Department a year earlier. In 2022, a  benefactor generously established an endowment  of $1.2 million to support the Department.

The revelation came during a presentation to the Board about the Athletic Department’s fundraising efforts by Rodney Jenkins, the College’s Vice  President of Community Relations & Student Development. Mr. Jenkins did not divulge the identity of the donor or provide any other details, adding an element of mystery to this philanthropic gesture.

While the precise intention behind this sizable donation remains undisclosed, there is speculation that the endowment may have been earmarked to start up a  women’s basketball team. Notably, 2022 marked the launch of the women’s basketball program, making this donation instrumental in its emergence.

Tenette says he will work closely with County school districts and community programs to increase engagement and participation in athletic programs; Lucas to combine new position with head volleyball coaching responsibilities

In a news release issued on September 1, Yavapai Community College announced the appointment of its new Director and Assistant Director of Athletics. Mr. Michael Tenette will take the helm as Director of Athletics, succeeding Hall of Fame Director, Mr. Brad Clifford, who retired on June 15, 2023, after a dedicated 35-year tenure at the College. Meanwhile, Ms. Chelsey Lucas will assume the role of Assistant Director of Athletics, succeeding Mr. Tenette.

Michael Tenette joined Yavapai Community College in August 2021 as the Assistant Athletic Director. Prior to joining the College, he spent 14 years establishing a record of success by leading championship programs throughout the greater Sacramento area in Northern California. Additionally, Mr. Tenette has a history of leadership, serving as the Founder and President of highly effective AAU basketball and sports camp programs. He has also contributed as the Head Coach for various competitive high school basketball and football teams.

Tenette has indicated he intends to work closely with County school districts and community programs to increase engagement and participation in athletics.

In her new role as Assistant Director of Athletics, Ms. Chelsey Lucas will transition into her responsibilities while retaining her position as the head coach of the Volleyball team. In this expanded role, she will also take charge of overseeing Yavapai Community College’s athletic camps and clinics, enhancing our commitment to fostering athletic talent within our community.

Yavapai Community College hired Lucas as the 11^th head volleyball in August 2022.  She came  from Grambling State University where she was the head coach of the Tigers.   Prior to coaching the Tigers, Lucas spent three years as the head volleyball coach at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff from 2019-22. From 2016-19, Lucas was the head coach at Alcorn State University. While at Alcorn State, Lucas guided the program to the SWAC Tournament in 2018, its first appearance since the 2015 season. In 2018, Lucas’s squad ranked second in the nation in aces per set with 1.98.  While at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Lucas led her team to the SWAC Tournament during all three of her seasons as head coach in 2019, 2020-21 and 2021.

Two (12.5%) of new players from Yavapai County, two from outside the U.S., seven from other Arizona counties outside Yavapai, and five  from outstate schools – Total County players on 25-person team roster are three (12%)

The Yavapai College men’s soccer team has announced its newcomers to the team for the 2023 season. The Roughriders are adding 16 new faces to the roster in addition to nine returning athletes, bringing the roster total to 25.

The 16 new additions, according to the Community College’s athletic department are:

Nate Claudio | Midfield | Freshman | Yuma, Arizona. High School: Claudio graduated from Cibola High School in May of 2023. As a senior, he helped lead his team to the playoffs with a 10-6-2 record while scoring seven goals and tallying 12 assists enroute to Region Offensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-State honors. 

Arthur Coscas | Forward | Sophomore | Paris, Île de France. High School: Coscas graduated from Assumption de Lubeck in June of 2021.  Before becoming a Roughrider, Coscas previously attended College of the Canyons.

Jorge Quintero | Forward | Freshman | St. George, Utah.  Quintero graduated from Dixie High School in May of 2022. While in high school, he led his team in scoring in back-to-back seasons, earned Region MVP and First-Team All-State honors, was the top scorer in 4A and top-five in assists in the state.

Joseph Miranda | Forward | Freshman | Tucson, Arizona. Miranda graduated from Walden Grove High School in May of 2022. He captained his team and scored 22 goals while tallying 11 assists en route to Region Player of the Year and Region Offensive Player of the Year honors.

Austin Dorsey | Goalkeeper | Freshman | Prescott, Arizona. High School: Dorsey graduated from Prescott High School in May of 2023 where he earned Honorable-Mention All-Region honors.

Anthony Khananisho | Midfield | Freshman | Ontario, Canada. Khananisho graduated from St. Jean de Brebeuf in June of 2023. While there, he earned soccer MVP honors while being on the honor roll.

Carlos Rodriguez | Midfield | Freshman | Chino Valley, Arizona. Rodriguez graduated from Chino Valley High School in May of 2023. While at Chino, Rodriguez played four years of varsity soccer and helped lead his team to state championships during his junior and senior seasons, scoring in each semifinal game and in one of the state title games. 

Erick Quirarte | Defender | Freshman | San Luis, Arizona.  Quirarte graduated from San Luis High School in May of 2023. As a senior, he helped lead his team to a 16-1 record with 12 shutouts and four goals scored, in addition to earning First-Team All-State and Academic First-Team All-State honors. 

Miguel Medina | Midfield | Freshman | St. Johns, Florida. Medina graduated from Bartram Trail High School in May of 2022.

Gael Castro | Midfield | Freshman | Yuma, Arizona.  Castro graduated from Cibola High School in May of 2023. As a senior, he captained his team and scored seven goals while tallying four assists en route to First-Team All-Region honors.

David Murillo | Forward | Freshman | San Luis, Arizona. Murillo graduated from San Luis High School in May of 2022. As a senior, he helped lead his team to the state quarterfinals while scoring nine goals and tallying four assists, including a hat trick during the first round of a state playoff game. Before Yavapai: Before becoming a Roughrider, Murillo previously attended Arizona Western College. 

Luis Medina | Forward | Freshman | San Luis, Arizona. High School: Medina graduated from San Luis High School in May of 2023. As a senior, he helped lead his team to the state finals while scoring 16 goals and tallying 16 assists en route to First-Team All-State and First-Team All-Region honors. 

Gio Orozco | Defender | Freshman | Orem, Utah. High School: Orozco graduated from Timpanogos High School in May of 2022. While there, he earned First-Team All-Region honors twice, competed in the Far West Regionals and went undefeated in P1.

Gabriel Jimenez | Midfield | Freshman | St. George, Utah. High School: Jimenez graduated from Dixie High School in May of 2021. He was a captain during his senior year in which he helped lead the team to a 13-4 record and first-place finish in regionals.

Izaias Santiago | Midfield | Freshman | Phoenix, Arizona. High School: Santiago graduated from North High School in May of 2023. As a senior, he captained the team and helped lead the squad to its first playoff appearance in five years while tallying four goals and 16 assists.

Kodee Karcher | Midfield | Freshman | Ellicott City, Maryland. High School: Karcher graduated from Centennial High School in May of 2023. As a senior, he tallied 18 goals (led the county) and nine assists enroute to Player of the Year, First-Team All-State and First-Team All-Metro honors. 

The nine returning players are:

Of the nine returning players from last year’s team, one is from Yavapai County, one from outside the U.S., five from Arizona counties outside Yavapai, and two from outstate. They are:

Sebastian Bielicki, |Midfielder/Defender |Glendale, Arizona. High School: Bielicki graduated from Mountain Ridge High School in May of 2021.

Charles Bettger, | Midfielder | Portland, Oregon. Highschool Valley Catholic, graduated  June 2022. As a  senior, he scored 11 goals and tallied nine assists enroute to First-Team All-State and League Player of the Year honors.

Aiden Harrell | Forward/Midfielder | Montrose, Colorado. While in high school, he earned First-Team All-Conference honors twice and Second-Team All-Conference honors once while also scoring 27 career goals. His team made the playoffs every year in high school and won the conference twice.

Austin Pearcy | Midfielder | Phoenix, Arizona. Boulder Creek High school. School. Instead of playing high school soccer, Pearcy played for the Phoenix Rising FC MLS Next Academy. In 2021-22, he was the team leader in assists.

Ravi Holladay | Defender : Chino Valley, Arizona. Holladay graduated from Chino Valley High School in May of 2022. As a senior, he helped lead his team to a 21-0-2 record and state championship while also earning all-conference honors.

John Stull | Defender/Midfielder | Hometown Litchfield Park, Arizona. Stull graduated from Millennium High School in May of 2022. While in high school, Stull earned Region Player of the Year, First-Team Defender, Defensive Player of the Year and All-Region Defender honors.

Jesus Torres | Defender |  Hometown San Luis, Arizona | Highschool San Luis. During his senior high school season, he earned Second-Team All-Region and Athlete of the Month honors while helping his team to an undefeated record and 6A finals appearance.

Rushon Sandy | Goalkeeper | Hometown San Fernando, Trinidad. Highschool High Mowing School. Sandy graduated from High Mowing School in June of 2022. He was the team captain for his team for three years.

Bishop Rhoads | Goalkeeper | Hometown San Tan Valley, Arizona. Highschool San Tan Foothills. He was a team captain for three years and led his team to its first playoff appearance in 2022 in which he posted a shutout in the first round game. For his efforts, he earned First-Team All-Region Goalkeeper honors.

Source:  https://goroughriders.com/news/2023/7/12/mens-soccer-mens-soccer-announces-newcomers-for-2023-squad.aspx

Mr. Clifford’s resignation follows the hiring of new head coaches in volleyball, baseball, softball, basketball over the past two year, the apparent resignation  of Academic Administrator Scott Farnsworth months ago, and the firing of long-time tennis coach Chris Howard this spring

Yavapai Community College Athletics Department’s Hall of Fame Director of Athletics, Brad Clifford, has announced his resignation after dedicating over 35 years to the institution. The news was revealed in a press release issued on June 15. (You may read the entire press release by clicking here.) Clifford’s departure comes in the wake of significant changes within the athletic department, including the hiring of new head coaches for volleyball, baseball, softball, and basketball, as well as the resignation of Academic Administrator Scott Farnsworth several months ago and the firing of long-time tennis coach Chris Howard this spring. 

Yavapai Community College boasts an array of head coaches overseeing various sports, including women’s softball, volleyball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s soccer, men’s soccer, baseball, and E-sports. Notably, on August 29, 2022, Chelsey Lucas was appointed as the 11th head volleyball coach, followed by Kali Pugh on September 20, 2022, as the 11th head softball coach, and Patrick Woods on September 21, 2022, as the seventh head baseball coach. Jay Joiner assumed the position of head men’s basketball coach in November 2022 but announced his departure on March 30, 2023. Ken Davis was subsequently hired in May 2023 as his replacement.

Alongside these new coaching hires, Academic Administrator Scott Farnsworth left the college a few months ago under undisclosed circumstances. Furthermore, earlier this year, the Community College decided to part ways with long-time tennis icon Chris Howard, terminating his employment.

In a commentary in the Verde Independent newspaper dated September 7, 2022,  Yavapai Community College District Governing Board Chair Deb McCasland explained that the athletic coaches were asked five years ago “to focus more attention on recruiting local student athletes (county/state).” A “mandate” was  instituted “that required 25% of all student athletes recruited had to be from local high schools,” she said.  Furthermore, the coaches were told “that the support for out-of-state and international students will decrease as we increased the scholarship support for local student-athletes.” (Click here to read the full Blog story.) 

“Those three coaches who decided to leave the college ignored those mandates,” wrote McCasland. The Blog believes the three coaches Ms. McCasland is referring to but not identified by name in her commentary are Ryan Cougill, Miles Kizer, and Doug Eastman.

During the October 2022 Yavapai Community College Governing Board meeting, Rodney Jenkins, Vice President of Community Relations at the Community College, made a statement that appeared to insinuate that the previous coaches had actively worked to undermine the mandate. Jenkins said that the previous coaches “did everything they could to sabotage our program.” Jenkins’ remarks seemed to reference the mandate mentioned by Chair McCasland in her commentary published in the Verde Independent.        program.” Jenkins was apparently alluding to the mandate Chair McCasland wrote about a month earlier in the Verde Independent.

At least four head coaches have been replaced in the last two years – men’s basketball coach Jay Joiner lasted only one year

Yavapai Community College has head coaches in the following sports:  Women’s Softball, volleyball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s soccer, men’s soccer, baseball, and E-sports.  Recently, there has been an unusual number of turnovers.

On August 29, 2022, Chelsey Lucas was hired as the 11th head volleyball coach.  On September 20, 2022,  Kali Pugh became  the 11th head softball coach.  On September 21, 2022, Patrick Woods was hired to be its  seventh head baseball coach. On November 2022 Jay Joiner became the head men’s basketball coach.  He announced his departure on March 30, 2023.  Ken Davis has just been hired to replace him.

When offered the job at Yavapai Community College, Mr. Davis was at Seward County Community College in Liberal, Kansas, where he was the assistant basketball coach since September of 2022. He is credited with helping the Kansas team climb to a  16^th ranking  in the NJCAA.

Yavapai Community College Director of Athletics, Brad Clifford, said. “I am fired up to have him on our staff and can’t wait to see what he does with this program.”

Hired in November 2022,  it was hoped he would rebuild the program that was closed down in 2010-2011  because of financial issues

Mr. Jay Joyner, Yavapai Community College Head basketball coach.

The Yavapai Community College Athletics Department announced March 30, 2023 that men’s head basketball coach, Jay Joyner, had resigned.  The Department said the resignation was a “personnel matter” and it had no further comment.

In the 2022-23 season, Joyner’s team overall won 7 games and lost 23, a .233 percentage.  In conference play, his team won four and lost 18, a .182 percentage.

When hired in November 2022,  Mr. Joyner said that “I’m truly humbled and honored to be the next head coach for men’s basketball at Yavapai College. I would like to thank Dr. Rhine, Vice President Jenkins and Athletic Director Brad Clifford for affording me this unbelievable opportunity. I look forward to building a program that the Yavapai College family will be proud of. Go Roughriders!”

“We are excited to have Jay leading the reinstitution of the men’s basketball program,” Director of Yavapai Community College Athletics Brad Clifford said. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will bring instant credibility to the new program!”

Joyner came to Yavapai from North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he was the head coach of the men’s basketball team from 2016-20. While coaching the Aggies, Joyner helped turn the program around with the NCAA’s second-best single-season improvement (three to 20 wins) and consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1993.

His 2019 team earned a 19-13 overall record with a 13-3 mark in MEAC play. In 2018, the Aggies enjoyed a banner season in which they earned a CIT Tournament appearance (their first since 2013), went 11-5 in the MEAC, went undefeated at home for the first time in 30 years and went 20-15 overall en route to Coach Joyner taking home MEAC and Region 15 Coach of the Year honors.

Prior to being the head coach at North Carolina A&T State, Joyner served there as the associate men’s basketball coach from 2012-16.

Coach Joyner earned his Bachelor of Science degree in physical education from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and played college basketball at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina.

Recall that Men’s basketball last competed at Yavapai Community College during the 2010-11 season while the program started in 1970-71. Through 40 seasons, the program’s all-time record is 674-458. Joyner’s squad began the 2022-23 season as members of the ACCAC (Arizona Community College Athletic Conference)

Vice President tells Governing Board in October 2022 that “previous coaches did everything they could to sabotage our program and we have moved past that.”

The Yavapai Community College sports program is burgeoning.   It has recently added the women’s basketball and soccer programs to its already established baseball, softball, volleyball, men’s soccer and e-sports programs. The student dormitories are beginning to fill with athletes. 

Once she was established and familiar with the Community College, President Dr. Lisa Rhine instituted major changes in the Athletic Department’s culture by  creating specific written goals for coaches to meet, including goals for fundraising, recruiting, community participation, and “team goals.” For the first time in its 50-year history, the College directed the coaches to focus more heavily on recruiting outstanding Yavapai County student athletes, with a goal of each team being made up of about 25% student athletes from the County.

However, the changes were apparently not well received by some coaches, as evidenced by the turnover last summer among the coaching staff. In July 2022, Yavapai Community College began looking for new head baseball and in August a new softball coach. According to a commentary written by Community College Governing Board Chair Deb McCasland in the September 7, 2022, Verde Independent newspaper, the coaches left because they refused to accept new recruiting and scholarship guidelines instituted by the college. 

In recent years, several Yavapai College Board members, especially those from the Sedona/Verde Valley Third District, have raised concerns about the College’s lack of focus on recruiting outstanding local athletes. They also expressed concern about the college’s practice of providing generous taxpayer-funded scholarships to out-of-state and international athletes, while rosters often included few or no local athletes.

According to Chair McCasland, the coaches were asked five years ago “to focus more attention on recruiting local student athletes (county/state).” A “mandate” was  instituted “that required 25% of all student athletes recruited had to be from local high schools,” she said.  Furthermore, the coaches were told “that the support for out-of-state and international students will decrease as we increased the scholarship support for local student-athletes.” “Those three coaches who decided to leave the college ignored those mandates,” wrote McCasland.

Several coaches reportedly ignored these mandates and resigned. In July 2022, 14-year veteran Ryan Cougill resigned as the Head Baseball Coach at Yavapai College. Assistant coach Miles Kizer also announced his resignation from Yavapai College at the same time. Then, in August 2022, the Athletic Department announced the resignation of Doug Eastman as the Head Coach of the Yavapai College softball team. Eastman won 343 games, making him the winningest softball coach in program history. His 300th win at Yavapai Community College (also the 800th of his career) came during the 2022 season.

At the October 2022 Board meeting, Vice President Rodney Jenkins commented that the previous coaches “did everything they could to sabotage our program.”  (See video tape.)

The College hired replacements for the coaches who left an faced issues such as rebuilding a program and quickly recruiting athletes for it.  It appeared from the October 2022 presentation to the Governing Board that it was relatively successful in its efforts.

Please see the 14 minute video clip of the October presentation to the Governing Board by clicking here.  Unfortunately, a small portion of the video at its beginning does not have sound.