Trigg County’s Payton Croft is leaving Trigg County after six seasons as head boys’ basketball coach to take another head coaching job. He would not name the school but said an announcement is expected in the next 24-48 hours. He informed the team of his decision Thursday afternoon.
“I can’t thank the administration of Trigg County, the community, and most importantly my players from both past and present who have accepted and supported me and my family to help give us the best six years we could ask for,” Croft said. “The relationships and friendships that we have made here will always make Trigg County a special place for us.”
Croft was 85-80 as head coach of the Wildcats, with his 85 wins the fourth-most in program history. His first three seasons saw the Wildcats win 55 games and win the Fifth District title each season. In 2014-15, the Wildcats were 16-14 and advanced to the semifinals of the Second Region Tournament where they lost to Webster County 49-47.
Those three seasons saw the Wildcats prosper with 1,000-point scorers Demaria Nance and Detaveon Day. After their graduations, the Wildcats failed to reach the district championship or have a winning season. Trigg County was 30-50 the past three seasons, including an 11-17 record in 2018-19. During that same time, four players who started at some point left the program for different reasons. As a result, Croft put younger teams on the floor. He started a senior, a junior, two freshmen, and an eighth grader for most of this past season.
While Croft did not say which school he was leaving for, the Mayfield coaching position became open this month when Chris Guhy stepped down after 16 seasons. The Cardinals advanced to the state tournament for the first time since 1992 in Guhy’s final season. The Cardinals lose nine seniors off this season’s team.
Another open coaching job in western Kentucky is Paducah Tilghman where Rod Thomas recently stepped down.
Trigg County will begin the search for a new head coach immediately. Four starters are expected to return for the Wildcats, and a feeder program Croft helped develop has the future looking bright.