LIBERTY, MO- Scott Jermain, head boys basketball coach at Raymore-Peculiar High School has been named the recipient of the 2020 Paul Lambert Coach of the Year Award. The award is presented annually to the top high school boys basketball coach in the Kansas City metro and is selected by a committee, including retired William Jewell men’s basketball coach Larry Holley. Because of COVID-19, no onsite presentation was made.

This season Jermain’s team finished with a 25-4 record, the most wins in 25 years for Ray-Pec. The Panthers were undefeated at home, champions of the Cardinal Division of the William Jewell High School Holiday Classic, District 13 and the Suburban Big 6 Conference, while advancing to the Missouri Class 5 quarterfinals. Additionally, the Panthers were ranked No. 1 in the Kansas City metro by 810 Varsity for five weeks.

The 2019-2020 season was Jermain’s 14th at the helm of the Raymore-Peculiar program. He was also named Coach of the Year in the Suburban Conference Gold Division for the third time as well as District Coach of the Year. He is the second Raymore-Peculiar coach to win the award, joining Bill Lenz in 1992.

Jermain began his coaching career as a student assistant coach at Northwest Missouri State University followed by one year as an assistant coach at William Jewell College and six years as the head coach at Pleasant Hill High School before moving on to Raymore-Peculiar. He is a graduate of Northwest Missouri State, married to wife Dana has three children, including his son Jordan who was a first team All-State selection for the Panthers this season.

The Paul Lambert Award is named after Paul Lambert Jr., a 1956 graduate of William Jewell College. Lambert died tragically in a hotel fire in 1978 and his widow, Carol Lambert Spence, established the award in his memory through William Jewell College. His coaching career began at the high school level in Moberly, Mo. and he coached at Drake University, Pittsburg State (KS), Hardin-Simmons (TX) and Southern Illinois. He had just accepted the head coaching position at Auburn University at the time of his death.

Previous Award Winners:

1984          Randy Springs, Wyandotte                                  2002       Roger Stirtz, Liberty

1985          Harold Brown, Lathrop                                         2003       Bud Lathrop, Raytown South

1986          Sherman Wofford, Ruskin                                   2004       John McFall, Olathe South

1987          Doug Bruce, Rockhurst                                         2005       Todd Maguire, O’Hara

1988          Glen McDonald, Lee’s Summit                            2006       Kevin Nichols, Cameron

1989          Doug Bruce, Rockhurst                                         2007       Gerry Marlin, Ruskin

1990          Bud Lathrop, Raytown-South                              2008       Mark Scanlon, Raytown

1991          Dan Miller, Hickman Mills                                   2009       Randy Farris, Grandview

1992       Bill Lenz, Raymore-Peculiar                                 2010       Rich Zych, Bishop Miege

1993       Chuck Minor, Schlagle                                          2011       Dan Parra, Sumner Academy

1994       Steve Broughton, Truman                                    2012       Ed Fritz, Blue Valley Northwest

1995       Mark Scanlon, Raytown                                       2013       Mark Nusbaum, Rockhurst

1996       John McFall, Olathe South                                  2014       Rod Briggs, Lansing

1997       Rick Allison, Pembroke Hill                                  2015       Dan Parra, Park Hill South

1998       Mark Nusbaum, Liberty                                        2016       Blake Little, Lee’s Summit

1999       Rick Zych, Bishop Miege                                       2017       Rick Zych, Bishop Miege

2000       Jed Frost, Park Hill South                                     2018       Reggie Morris, Grandview

2001       Rick Zych, Bishop Miege                                       2019       Reggie Morris, Grandview