Schutz named to Hall of Fame

Odessa Principal Ken Schutz has been named to the athletics Hall of Fame at Pierce College in Steilacoom, where he coached women’s basketball from 1989 - 1993.

Schutz arrived at Pierce with no experience coaching at the college level, and in his first year improved the Raiders from the worst program in the NWAACC (Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges) into a team that placed third in the West, finishing at 21-7. He was selected as Western Division Coach of the Year for 1990, an honor he reprised in 1993, his final year at Pierce.

Over the four years he coached at Pierce, his teams recorded 93 wins and 26 losses, reported to be the “greatest run of any Raider Women’s Basketball coach, before or since,” according to the Spring 2012 Pierce View.

Other accomplishments as a coach at Pierce included 20 or more wins in three of the four seasons, Western Region playoffs in all four seasons, and NWAACC Championship playoff berths in both 1992 and 1993.

Schutz left his successful college coaching career to follow another path, that of high school administrator. He has been K-12 Principal at Odessa School District since 2003.