Trinity basketball head coach Kimberly Coleman guided the Blazers to a terrific 2025-26 season, finishing with a 26-11 record and third place in the IHSA Class 3A state tournament, which matched the highest state finish in program history, first established in 2016.
For her efforts, the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association last week named Coleman one of the IBCA District 4 coaches of the year. It’s the third time in four years that Coleman has received this honor; she also got it in 2023 and 2024.
“Honestly, I feel blessed,” Coleman told Wednesday Journal in a phone interview. “I have so much gratitude for my assistant coaches [Jacquice Cooper, Art Jefferson, Rich Kudelka, Zeyera Stafford] and all the things they pour into the program. Lots of times, you see the head coach as the face of things, but I really can’t do this without my support, and it’s the reason why we’ve been successful. All the work we’ve put in is paying off.”
Coleman also lauded the support she gets from the players’ parents.
“Someone asked me the other day why we have success, and I said it’s because we’re all of one accord. Everyone’s on the same page,” she said. “Every parent loves every kid like they were their own, and they bring so much energy and support to our program. It’s a real family when we’re all together. I’d also like to mention my family and the families of our coaches who sacrifice so much for us to be able to coach and empower the young ladies on our team.”
College decisions
Trinity seniors Armante Dambrauskas, Zaria Goins, and Chloe Santos finalized their collegiate plans this month. Dambrauskas, who missed this season due to injury, will play at Xavier University. Goins will play at Carroll University in Wisconsin, and Santos at North Central College. Goins was selected to the IBCA Class 3A Second Team, while Santos made the Third Team.
“I’m super-excited for the three of them,” Coleman said. “They’ve gone to every open gym we’ve hosted this spring, and that’s a testament to the leadership they implemented in our program and culture. I’m excited to see what they do at the next level.”
Trinity MLK Showcase
Coleman said next year’s MLK Showcase, which will enter its fifth year in January, will grow into a two-day event to be held in a Saturday-Monday format with five games each day. She’s planning to have 20 schools participate.
“We’ve got a couple more schools interested and we don’t want to exclude anybody,” Coleman said. “If we can recognize as many coaches as we can and highlight Black leadership, especially in the River Forest community, we want to welcome them. We want to get some teams who haven’t been here before. We’ve got more sponsors for next year, and we want to make it memorable for the players and coaches. It’s going to be better than it’s ever been and we’re excited about it.”