‘It’s weird today’: Hoyt leaves JWCC after life-long association, school needs to fill three positions

QUINCY — The navigation on Brad Hoyt’s car needs to be reprogrammed.

Instead of the daily drive to the John Wood Community College campus, a route he’s taken for the past 13 years as men’s basketball coach and athletic director, Hoyt will be cruising across town to the Quincy University campus to begin his new coaching gig.

Tuesday morning, at a press conference inside the QU Hall of Fame Room, Hoyt was introduced as the Hawks’ next men’s basketball coach.

Hoyt admitted the new title sounds quite different.

“It’s weird today,” Hoyt said of being on a different campus. “It’s going to be weird.”

His ties to the local community college make it so.

A 1993 graduate of Quincy Notre Dame where he was a three-sport standout, Hoyt played two seasons at point guard for the Trail Blazers under Hall of Fame coach Mike Elbe. He spent five seasons as an assistant coach before replacing Elbe as head coach for one season, compiling a 19-12 record during the 2004-05 season.

After three seasons at Culver-Stockton College, Hoyt returned to JWCC in 2008 and spent three seasons as one of Elbe’s assistant coaches. In 2011, Hoyt replaced Elbe as the Trail Blazers’ head coach and proceeded to win 269 games and six Mid-West Athletic Conference championships over the last 13 seasons.

For the 48-year old Hoyt, more than half of his life has been spent associated with JWCC.

“I will always be loyal to John Wood,” Hoyt said. “The memories and the people that are connected to my family have been absolutely fantastic. So it was really hard to walk away from there. I still have an interest in them succeeding. For sure I’m going to be their biggest cheerleader.

“I’m an alum from there. Players that I have coached are alums from there. So it was hard to walk away from that. But I think that speaks to the fact I wouldn’t have walked away for just any opportunity. This one is the right one to walk away for.”

It leaves JWCC to fill three roles.

Not only does Hoyt have to be replaced as men’s basketball coach and athletic director, but he began the 2023-24 school year as the school’s interim dean of students. In March, he was named the full-time dean of students moving forward.

The school planned to transition Hoyt out of the athletic director and hire a new AD for the 2024-25 school year, so that will continue to be part of the process.

“Brad has been an invaluable member of the JWCC community for more than two decades,” JWCC President Dr. Bryan Renfro, president of JWCC, said in a press release. “His leadership and dedication have been instrumental in the success of our students and our athletic programs.

“Brad’s impact on JWCC cannot be overstated. His commitment to our students and our mission has been unwavering, and we are grateful for his many contributions.”

The Trail Blazers finished 19-13 last winter, reaching the Region 24 championship as the No. 3 seed. They are expected to return point guard Jordan Shelton and 6-foot-8 forward Jake Wallingford. JWCC had received a commitment from Winchester West Central all-state guard Zack Evans and was actively working to complete a championship roster.

That challenge now falls into the hands of a new head coach.

According to the JWCC press release, the search begins immediately for a new dean of students and a new men’s basketball coach “who will assume other college duties.”