High School Coach of the Year: Scott Antl of Delano

In nearly 30 years of coaching, Scott Antl has pretty much seen it all. From the excitement of a trip to the State Tournament with Anoka over a decade ago to the depths of a struggling North St. Paul program, from PACT Charter to Big Lake, the veteran bench boss knows the routine well. It’s hard to imagine that Coach Antl has had a better team than this year’s Delano Tigers. In his second season at the school, Antl led his team to a record of 29-2. We are pleased to recognize Coach Antl as our Prep Girls Hoops High School Coach of the Year.

“That’s great. I’m happy for him,” said senior standout Norah Danielson Norah Danielson 6'0" | SF Delano | 2024 State MN , who is headed for Wayne State in the fall. “He has done a lot for the program and it’s good to know that it will be in good hands in the future.”

Both in high school basketball, and in his three decades with Minnesota Stars , Antl has been known for his fiery demeanor. He is intense and demanding. “If you watch him during games you might think that he’s like that all the time,” said Danielson, “but everything he does is because he cares so much. He has high expectations because he wants us to be the best that we can be. He’s a veteran coach who knows what he wants.”

Senior Taylor Tool Taylor Tool 6'1" | PF Delano | 2024 State MN agrees. “Watching him he can definitely seem intense, but for me at least I didn’t have a problem adjusting,” said the Northern State commit. “He definitely would get his points across, but he was always very supportive. Before games especially, he did a really good job of bringing energy and trying to hype us up.”

Prior to Antl’s arrival in the fall of 2022, Delano didn’t really know what it took to be successful. Over the previous five seasons, the Tigers averaged just six wins a year. The past two years, Delano is 48-9. This year they fell in the Section 6AAA final to the state champions from Benilde-St. Margaret’s.

“It definitely helped that we had a very talented group of younger girls coming up when Scott came,” said Tool, “but the biggest change I would say was our offensive and especially defensive philosophies. He came into the program with big goals for us and that started with our summer training. The flow of practices and the pace at which we played changed a lot. Prior to him, we definitely were not a fast tempo team, but now I would say that was a strength of ours. We also had a couple of different presses that he put in that also made us very challenging for some teams.”

According to Danielson, things quickly changed off the court, too. The players engaged in multiple fundraising efforts so that they could do team-building activities and afford coach buses for longer road trips. Gradually the kids began to believe in themselves more. The environment enabled talented underclassmen like Abbie Pietila Abbie Pietila 5'8" | PG Delano | 2026 State MN , Cassie Wegman Cassie Wegman 5'11" | SF Delano | 2026 State MN , Addie Iversen Addie Iversen 6'0" | SF Delano | 2027 State MN , Rachel Wassermann Rachel Wassermann 6'0" | SF Delano | 2027 State MN and Lexi Champeau Lexi Champeau 5'6" | SG Delano | 2026 State MN to thrive this season while veterans like Sidney Schmit Sidney Schmit 5'7" | SG Delano | 2024 State MN (UW-River Falls) excelled, as well. “He brought the team together,” said Danielson. “He really helped us build a culture.”

RUNNER-UP

Tyesha Wright – Minneapolis Roosevelt

It had been 15 years since a team from the Minneapolis City Conference qualified for the State Tournament. Roosevelt had never been there. Coach Wright and her talented crew overcame the odds, scoring a 50-49 win over St. Paul Como Park in the Section 3AAA finals to advance to the big dance. Led by Olivia Wren Olivia Wren 5'10" | SG Roosevelt | 2024 State MN , a top-45 prospect in the Class of 2024, the Teddies won 10 of their last 11 games heading into the tournament and compiled a record of 23-9 overall. Coach Wright, who graduated from Roosevelt in 2010, was the catalyst for a talented lineup that improved every year. Wren said her coach was always calm, positive, engaged, and dedicated to her team.

“Coach Wright always pushed us and helped us understand that we were going to have to sacrifice things to be the best,” said Wren. “She was always positive, and really understood the game in a different way – the little things like making a box out every play or going after every loose ball. She understood that it was the little things that would help us get far. But most importantly, I feel like she made the team feel like family and it was always bigger than basketball with her and how she coached.”

HONORABLE MENTION

Bob Southworth – St. Peter

We’ve known Coach Southworth for years and have always had a ton of respect for his intensity, commitment, and ability to get the most out of his players. This year the Saints put together an 8-game win streak early on, lost once, and then collected 17 more victories in a row. St. Peter beat Marshall for the fourth time in a row to capture the Section 2AAA crown and advance to the State Tournament for the first time in five years. “Our team was good this year because of the belief we had in each other,” said Rhyan Holmgren Rhyan Holmgren 5'9" | SG St. Peter | 2024 State MN , a 2,000-point scorer who is headed for MSU-Mankato. “Everyone bought in and played for each other, which made us a very hard team to beat.”

The team finished with 29 wins, falling by one point to Stewartville on the big stage. Rhyan played five years for Coach Southworth, who is the president of a local bank. “I would say Bob’s coaching style is defined by tough love,” she said. “He’s the guy that would do anything to help players succeed, and you can tell through his coaching. He dedicates so much of his time to help us meet every standard we set for ourselves. He will never sugarcoat anything, or allow you to take the easy way out, and that’s something I really admire about him.”