Andrew Moran named Naismith high school basketball coach of the year

The four-time defending state champion head coach wins his first National Coach of the Year award.

Jaxon Richardson of the Miami Columbus High School basketball team drives to the basket during the championship game against Montverde at the City of Palms Classic at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. / Andrew West/The News-Press / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Atlanta Tip Off Club announced on Thursday, that Christopher Columbus (Miami, Florida) High School boys basketball coach Andrew Moran has been named the Naismith National High School boys basketball coach of the year.

Moran, who has been the head boys basketball coach at Columbus High School since 2019 has led the Explorers to four state championships as well as being ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation, according to multiple ranking services.

Moran was named a finalist for the second consecutive year, where he finished second in the voting in 2024 behind Montverde Academy's Kevin Boyle for the award last year.

He coached five-stars Cameron and Cayden Boozer who will be on their way to play at Duke University next season as well as coached four-star junior shooting guard Jaxon Richardson who has emerged onto the scene since coming to South Florida at the beginning of his sophomore season.

Moran and the Explorers clinched the No. 1 seed in next month's Chipotle Nationals that will take place in Fishers, Indiana where they will play either Wasatch Academy (Utah) or a rematch with IMG Academy who they faced in the City of Palms Classic semifinals back in December in the quarterfinals on Thursday, April 3.

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