VDN 2025 Girls’ Basketball Head Coach of the Year: Troy Stewart

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — After going 11-20 during the 2023-2024 season, most critics counted him out. A year later, Troy Stewart did what he does best, putting the Missy Gators back on the map, finishing with an 18-13 record and were runner-ups in the district tournament.

For his leadership role in putting the program back together, Troy Stewart has been named VDN’s 2025 Girls’ Basketball Head Coach of the Year.

“I’m more than sure that we overachieved. I’m proud of the girls, and I know that no one thought we would get this far, but having them step up the way that they did, it really means a lot,” Stewart said.

Before the start of the season, Stewart had a key weapon who would be eligible for the first time since her sophomore year: Zion Harvey. With Zion coming in along with seasoned starter Cynia Johnson, the Missy Gators had no choice but to dominate, beginning the season with a 50-37 win over South Pike.

“I knew what type of player Zion was and the team knew what we had,” Stewart added. “Cynia has been with me since the eighth grade so she knows exactly what I need out of her, but both of them are going to go off and will do great things.”

Stewart testified that defeating Lanier and playing well against Terry, where VHS fell short by only two points, were two major highlights of the season. Although those were shining moments, VHS conquered the most memorable of them all, defeating Neshoba Central twice in one year with scores of 63-60 and 53-46.

The Missy Gators won against Olive Branch in the first round of the playoffs, before ending their season in a 75-44 loss to Olive Branch in the second round. Although their dream of making it to the Mississippi Coliseum never came, VHS easily proved that they were one of the toughest teams in 6A.

Stewart’s leadership has been highlighted over the years, but even though he is head of the program, he attributes a lot of his success to his assistant coaches Deatra Cable and Michelle Jones.

“As in every year, they are instrumental and they support me and the girls, but in all honesty, I tear the girls down at practice and they do a great job of building them back up,” said Stewart.

Stewart has been the head coach at VHS for the last eight years, with seven winning seasons. There has been a player signing a collegiate scholarship in each of Stewart’s years as head coach.

2025 represents the third time that Stewart has won the VDN Coach of the Year Award.

“This is a personal accolade that I will always cherish; but the girls, the parents, and the administration are the reason I won this because they allowed me to do my job. I’m thankful for it,” Stewart added.

Stewart will be missing some key pieces next year due to graduation, but will still have a host of upcoming freshmen along with underclassmen to round out the roster.