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Mike Woods recently retired from coaching at Hamilton High School in Chandler, but not without one more honor.
The Arizona Republic has selected Woods as the 2026 Arizona high school baseball Coach of the Year, after leading the Huskies to their 10th 6A state championship.
Woods, the only baseball head coach Hamilton has had since it opened in 1998, won his 10th state title with the biggest championship comeback of his career. The Huskies trailed 7-0 in the second inning before coming back to beat Tempe Corona del Sol 10-7.
This spring, he was inducted into the Arizona High School Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame.
Hamilton's comeback state championship win capped a season in which the 22-10 Huskies played mostly under the radar after beginning the year 0-3.
"This team was unlike most years," Woods said. "We were kind of under the radar. We started out 0-3 and we were kind of forgotten and nobody was paying attention to us.
"We put together a pretty solid year. We played a really tough schedule. We played everybody. It was different for us just because of being the afterthought to the conversation. They just kept playing."
Hamilton went through another three-game losing streak in April, before winning 10 of its last 12 games.
"We had deficiencies but I think everybody in 6A did," Woods said. "I'm just proud of our guys. They played really good baseball the last three weeks of the season. They really bought into worrying about the things that just win ballgames."
Also considered for Coach of the Year were Chandler Arizona College Prep's Andrew Pollak, Scottsdale Saguaro's Gerald Laird, Horizon's Luke Peevyhouse, Scottsdale Notre Dame's Joe Muecke, Chandler Valley Christian's Vince LaGatta, ALA Gilbert North's David Webster, Scottsdale Christian's Dillon Eaves and Williams' Ethan Johnson.
Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. He also covers Grand Canyon University athletics and the Arizona Rattlers. Please sign up for Azcentral Preps Now newsletter. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at [email protected] or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Hamilton's Mike Woods is Republic's high school baseball COY
Continue reading...
The Arizona Republic has selected Woods as the 2026 Arizona high school baseball Coach of the Year, after leading the Huskies to their 10th 6A state championship.
Woods, the only baseball head coach Hamilton has had since it opened in 1998, won his 10th state title with the biggest championship comeback of his career. The Huskies trailed 7-0 in the second inning before coming back to beat Tempe Corona del Sol 10-7.
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This spring, he was inducted into the Arizona High School Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame.
Hamilton's comeback state championship win capped a season in which the 22-10 Huskies played mostly under the radar after beginning the year 0-3.
"This team was unlike most years," Woods said. "We were kind of under the radar. We started out 0-3 and we were kind of forgotten and nobody was paying attention to us.
"We put together a pretty solid year. We played a really tough schedule. We played everybody. It was different for us just because of being the afterthought to the conversation. They just kept playing."
Hamilton went through another three-game losing streak in April, before winning 10 of its last 12 games.
"We had deficiencies but I think everybody in 6A did," Woods said. "I'm just proud of our guys. They played really good baseball the last three weeks of the season. They really bought into worrying about the things that just win ballgames."
Also considered for Coach of the Year were Chandler Arizona College Prep's Andrew Pollak, Scottsdale Saguaro's Gerald Laird, Horizon's Luke Peevyhouse, Scottsdale Notre Dame's Joe Muecke, Chandler Valley Christian's Vince LaGatta, ALA Gilbert North's David Webster, Scottsdale Christian's Dillon Eaves and Williams' Ethan Johnson.
Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. He also covers Grand Canyon University athletics and the Arizona Rattlers. Please sign up for Azcentral Preps Now newsletter. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at [email protected] or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Hamilton's Mike Woods is Republic's high school baseball COY
Continue reading...
