Wheeling Central Catholic coach Mel Stephens, center, addresses his Maroon Knights squad during a timeout at a Class AA Boys Basketball State Tournament game at the Charleston Coliseum in March.

After an undefeated season capped by completing back-to-back state championship runs, Wheeling Central boys basketball coach Mel Stephens has had a lot to celebrate during his offseason.

Add one more feather in Stephens’ cap now, with the longtime Maroon Knights head coach having been named the 2026 Van Meter Award winner as the best high school coach in West Virginia, as selected by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.

“Very surprised,” Stephens said, reacting to the news. “You know, it’s beyond my wildest dreams, really, to get that award. With all the great coaches in West Virginia, to be honored like that is really a great feeling. It really goes back to my coaches and my players, though. My assistants put in the time to go scout, to get game plans ready. They do a tremendous job doing that. But then it ultimately falls on the players’ responsibility to be able to go out and execute that game plan.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the season we had, with the effort we had from my entire team, my staff, and my players. To win the award is a great feeling. To win a state championship is a great feeling. On top of all that, you go undefeated– I mean, it’s a pretty special year.”

Wheeling Central went 23-0 this year, capturing the WVSSAC Class AA state championship after a 55-39 victory over Wyoming East. It was the second-straight state championship for Central and the 14th SSAC championship in school history.

It was a dominant season for the Maroon Knights, who, in their 23 victories, had only two games decided by single-digits, neither of which came in the postseason. The Maroon claimed multiple victories over out-of-state powers like Marietta (OH), Steubenville (OH) and Monroe Central (OH), as well as in-state opponents like Washington and Charleston Catholic. In the postseason, Wheeling plowed through Tyler, Frankfort, Wayne and Wyoming East with an average margin of victory of 28.25 points.

“There’ve been some really good teams at Central,” Stephens said. “I think the only other undefeated team was in 1963. They won 23-0 and won the Catholic State Championship that year. So, that was pretty neat to just be mentioned in the same breath with that team.

“But there’ve been a lot of great coaches at Central, a lot of great teams. This year was just really something special, having Eli [Sancomb] and him winning the State Player of the Year and the Gatorade Player of the Year. And, you know, the other guys on the team that helped out along the way– you know, Eli is very good, Eli makes other guys better, and I think the other guys made Eli better. Even the guys that came off the bench and even the guys that didn’t play a lot, they busted their butt in practice to get us ready for every game. Just a special group and a special feeling for this year.”

Sancomb won a second Evans Award this year, sharing the honor with George Washington’s Noah Lewis this time around.

Stephens has been the head coach at Wheeling Central since 2003-2004, and had amassed a 448-146 record– though Stephens insisted a more accurate win count was 443, as he was absent from the sideline for the first five games of this year as he recovered from knee surgery. Stephens has won eight state championships as head coach of Wheeling Central, and won two more as an assistant coach at the school.

Stephens says he has learned a lot through 20+ years as head coach at Wheeling Central.

“I think every year you get a little bit better,” Stephens said. “I mean, you pick up little things, whether it’s from other coaches, other teams, your coaches, your players. Every year I think I can get better, we can get better. That’s one of the things we talked about as a team at the beginning of the year is, we want to try to get better every day. We’ve had kids that have really bought into that.

“I think that’s what made this year so special. We played a pretty demanding schedule, I thought. And we prepared for every game to try to win that next game. It’s kind of a cliché and all that, but going undefeated, we really never talked that much about what our record was, right? I mean, as coaches, we talked a couple times, maybe partway through the year about how, if somebody would have told us with the schedule we played, that we’d be undefeated right now, we would have taken that in a heartbeat. But we really never put a whole lot of emphasis on that. We just wanted to try to get better every day, try to prepare for that next game and come out, compete, and try to do our best. I thought our coaches and all of our players really did that.”

Wheeling Central has a championship pedigree– and a legacy that keeps growing, with boys basketball winning back-to-back state titles, football winning this past fall’s Class A state championship, and the Central baseball team working through this spring season as the defending state champions. Stephens thinks that the school’s high standards motivates all of its athletes.

“It’s just a special place, really,” Stephens said. “It’s a family-type atmosphere. It’s a community. We have people that come to our games and have been doing that for 50 years, 60 years. It’s really neat. And I think, because the sports programs are pretty successful, you just try to basically uphold the standard.

With Stephens taking home this honor, the Van Meter Award has gone to a boys basketball coach for three straight years. Steve Hensley of Winfield softball, Nathan Tanner of Princeton football, Sean Biser of Morgantown football, Ken Maisel of University wrestling and Shari Helvey of James Monroe girls basketball also received significant votes in this year’s selection.

“Definitely caught me by surprise,” Stephens said of the award. “Because I’ve looked in the past at some of the coaches that have won this award and some of the coaches that have won the college award. Just some of those names are just great coaches and outstanding people. To just be included in that is just truly an honor.”

Van Meter Award

(Top West Virginia high school coach)

The Van Meter Award, the High School Coach of the Year Award until 2016, is named for Woodrow Wilson boys basketball and football coach Jerome Van Meter, who passed away in 2003 at the age of 102. Van Meter won 869 games combined as basketball and football coach. The recipient is voted on by the WVSWA and the award is given to the state’s top high school coach.

2026 – Mel Stephens, Wheeling Central (boys basketball)

2025 – Dave Marshall, Bridgeport (boys basketball)

2024 – Dave Tallman, Morgantown (boys basketball)

2023 – John Lilly, Independence (football)

2022 – Kevin Gertz, Logan (baseball, girls basketball)

2021 – Shaun Smith, Parkersburg South (wrestling)

2020 – Missy Smith, Herbert Hoover (softball), George Washington (volleyball)

2019 – Michael Gray, Webster County (boys basketball)

2018 – Brad Napier, Chapmanville (boys basketball)

2017 – Dave Walker, Martinsburg (football)

2016 – Dave Tallman, Morgantown (boys basketball) and John Lowery, Jefferson (baseball)

2015 – Allen Osborne, Poca (boys basketball)

2014 – Dave Walker, Martinsburg (football)

2013 – Shannon Lewis, St. Joseph (girls basketball)

2012 – Paul Jackson, Parkersburg South (wrestling)

2011 – Dave Walker, Martinsburg (football)

2010 – Wayne Ryan, Summers County (girls basketball)

2009 – Mick Price, Ravenswood (boys basketball)

2008 – Ron Kidd, Woodrow Wilson (boys basketball)

2007 – Bernie Buttrey, Parkersburg (football)

2006 – John Bowers, Morgantown (football)

2005 – Jim Thomas, Wheeling Central (football)

2004 – Bob Lemley, Poca (football)

2003 – Annette Olenchick, Sissonville (softball)

2002 – Larry Shaw, Oak Glen (wrestling)

2001 – Carl Clark, Capital (boys basketball)

2000 – Marshall Burdette, Parkersburg (football)

1999 – Alan Fiddler, Moorefield (football)

1998 – David Kyle, Tucker County (girls basketball)

1997 – David Kyle, Tucker County (girls basketball)

1996 – John O’Neal, Mercer Christian (girls basketball)

1995 – Bryce Casto, South Charleston (football)

1994 – Dave Rogers, Martinsburg (boys basketball)

1993 – Dave Barksdale, Woodrow Wilson (boys basketball)

1992 – Jim Hamric, Spencer (football)

1991 – Paul “Bud” Billiard, Brooke (football)

1990 – Roger Jefferson, Capital (football)

1989 – Jim Lilly, Oak Hill (boys basketball)

1988 – Paul “Bud” Billiard, Brooke (football)

1987 – Bob Burton, Paden City (boys basketball)

1986 – Lou Nocida, Sistersville (football)

1985 – Don Stover, Stonewall Jackson (boys basketball)

1984 – Jim Lilly, Oak Hill (boys basketball)

1983 – Willie Akers, Logan (boys basketball)

1982 – Lou Nocida, Sistersville (football)

1981 – Roy Michael, North Marion (football)

1980 – Wayne Jamison, Bridgeport (football)

1979 – Jennings Boyd, Northfork (boys basketball)

1978 – Pete Culicerto, Woodrow Wilson (football/track)

1977 – Jennings Boyd, Northfork (boys basketball)

1976 – Jennings Boyd, Northfork (boys basketball)

1975 – Tex Williams, St. Albans (boys basketball)

1974 – Don Arthur, East Bank (football)

1973 – Wayne Jamison, Bridgeport (football)

1972 – Al Morgan, Greenbrier East (boys basketball)

1971 – Frank Vincent, Charleston (football)

1970 – Frank Vincent, Charleston (football)

1969 – Earl Keener, Monongah (football)

1968 – Carl Ward, Ceredo-Kenova (football)

1967 – Joe Michael, Buckhannon (football)

1966 – Merrill Gainer, Bluefield (football)

1965 – Roy Williams, East Bank (football)

1964 – Granville Zopp, Buckhannon (football)

1963 – Merrill Gainer, Bluefield (football)

1962 – Bob Sullivan, Magnolia (all sports)

1961 – Sam Mandich, Parkersburg (boys basketball)

1960 – Merrill Gainer, Bluefield (football)

1959 – Burdell Carey, Weir (football)

1958 – Stan Romanoski, Dunbar (boys track)

1957 – Sam LeRose, St. Albans (football)

1956 – Lewis D’Antoni, Mullens (boys basketball)

(combined high school/college coach of the year, 1944-55)

1952 – Jerome Van Meter, Woodrow Wilson (boys basketball)

1951 – Jerome Van Meter, Woodrow Wilson (football)

1950 – Carl Hamill, Weir (football)

1948 – Jerome Van Meter, Woodrow Wilson (football)

1946 – (tie) Forest Underwood, Huntington East (boys basketball)

Homer Fizer, University (football)

1945 – Bill Weber, South Charleston (all sports)

1944 – Bill Weber, South Charleston (football)

1943 – Jimmy Scott, Parkersburg (football)