After one season away from the sidelines, a state champion girls basketball coach is back in the Ninth Region.
St. Henry District High School announced that it has hired Kes Murphy ahead of the 2026-2027 season. Murphy, the brother of inaugural Kentucky Miss Basketball winner Donna Murphy, owns a 309-139 record in 15 seasons.
He led the Holy Cross Lady Indians from 2010 to 2018, most notably leading them to the 2015 All “A” state title and the Sweet 16 state championship. Holy Cross remains just one of two Northern Kentucky schools to win the state championship (Ryle in 2019).
In seven seasons at Notre Dame, Murphy won six district championships and won 20 games or more in six seasons. His final season in Park Hills saw the Pandas go 22-8 and finish as the Ninth Region runners-up.
Murphy succeeds Dan Trame, who went 31-30 in two seasons. St. Henry’s 17-13 record this past season was its best since it went 18-13 in 2022-2023. The Crusaders beat Dixie Heights for the first time in 12 years and won the Mercer Tourism Christmas Clash.
The “mighty mites,” as Trame called them, should advance to the Ninth Region tournament for the fifth straight year as they return the majority of their roster, including Joey Powers, Audrey Pieczonka, Anna Bain, Caroline Brannen and standout volleyball player Kenadi Sieg.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Kes Murphy new St. Henry High School girls basketball head coach