Augusta Lady Panthers head basketball coach, Todd Kelsch, has resigned.
Kelsch took over the program from William McKay in 2023, who led the team for three seasons. Throughout his two years with the program, Kelsch led the Lady Panthers to a 24-31 record that included wins in the 10th Region All “A” Classic and showcased significant growth by each member of the roster.
“Coaching this team has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” said Kelsch in a statement released on social media. “Watching these young women grow on and off the court has been a privilege, and I will always be proud of what we’ve accomplished together.”
Last season, Augusta ended the year 11-17, losing 62-46 to the eventual 39th District champions, the Bracken County Lady Bears, in the first round of the tournament.
Despite the near 20-point deficit the Lady Bears had built by the end of the game, the Lady Panthers’ grit was on full display. Augusta jumped out ahead of Bracken County early in the game to create a 26-12 lead over the Lady Bears by the end of the first quarter.
Ultimately, Augusta would be unable to maintain their lead, but they proved their refusal to go down without a fight.
Following that game, Coach Kelsch said, “For years, I was an assistant coach under Jason Hinson on the boys’ side, and one thing he taught me about the postseason is, the first five minutes of a postseason game are the most important. Especially when you’re the underdog, you’ve got to come out and you’ve got to punch the other team in the mouth, so to speak, and we did that. You’ve got to be able to make shots, and we made shots in the first quarter. That kept us in the game for a long time.”
The 2024-25 Lady Panthers graduated three seniors: Kenzington Hinson, Mallory Jett and Reagan Tackett.
Hinson was the team’s second leading scorer at the end of last season, scoring 252 total points and averaging 9.0 points per game. Tackett came in just behind her with 194 total points and an average of 8.4 points per game, with Jett totaling three points on the season.
“Reagan got a lot of attention from everybody because she was our scorer,” Kelsch said at the end of last year. “Kenzington, she was a vocal leader, and then Mallory started as our manager last year. This summer, we only had eight or nine showing up to practices. I begged her to join the team, and she joined so that we would have five on five in practice. I owe a lot to those girls.”
Many of the remaining members of the roster are set to return to the court for Augusta in the 2025-26 season. Augusta’s first game of the season is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 1 on the road to Newport Central Catholic. Their first home game will be Wednesday, Dec. 3 against the Dayton Lady Greendevils. Both games are scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff, although schedules are subject to change.
