Veteran Iowa High School Boys Basketball Coach Steps Down

A veteran Iowa high school boys basketball head coach has announced his plans to retire.

Steve Hillman will step down from his post as head boys basketball coach at Pleasant Valley High School, the school announced in a post on social media.

“His dedication, leadership and commitment to student-athletes have left a lasting impact on the program and school community,” the official Pleasant Valley X (formerly known as Twitter) account wrote. “Spartan Nation Proud.”

Hillman led Pleasant Valley for the last 19 seasons as the head coach, having been with the program for the past 24 seasons overall.

During his time with the Spartans as the head coach, Hillman led the team to 310 wins, including a runner-up finish in the Class 4A Iowa High School Athletic Association Boys State Basketball Tournament in 2015.

Pleasant Valley Reached State Finals, Semifinals Under Steve Hillman

Pleasant Valley also reached the semifinals in 2016 and 2023, along with a state appearance in 2021. Six times the Spartans won the Mississippi Athletic Conference, with Hillman earning multiple coach of the year awards in the league.

Hillman played collegiate basketball at Luther College, earning MVP and being a team captain during his senior season in 1993. He was an assistant on the coaching staff at Luther and also coached for eight years at Geneseo High School in Illinois before arriving at Pleasant Valley.

The Spartans went 11-12 overall and 8-10 in the conference this past winter and are set to return starters Luke Martin and Cayson Neely.