.jpg)
The DeSoto High School Lady Eagles have an entirely new coaching staff and look to keep building on last season's success as they kick off the 2024-25 campaign.
Leading the Lady Eagles this year is Jeffery Chatman who came to DeSoto from San Antonio’s Cibolo Steele and boasts an overall winning record of 277-67 over ten years.
In 2022, Chatman became the all-time winningest coach at Steele and has been nationally ranked, reached multiple state quarter finals, and multiple state appearances.
Chatman has also held national team rankings and various coaching honors including coach of the year.
Chatman has assembled an impressive staff to help him lead the Lady Eagles to a successful season.
“The goal is always to win at every level, on and off the court,” said Chatman.
“We want to continue to build a great foundation and influence here and strive in excellence on the court and in the classroom.”
Joined by Amber Ramirez, Melanie Hobson, Andrea Riley, and Brian Russell, Chatman and the DHS Lady Eagles will look to repeat the successes of last season.
Ramirez, formerly of Converse Judson, brings a wealth of player experience at the collegiate and professional level.
She was named a McDonald’s All-American and SEC Player of the Year due to her performance as a scholar-athlete at the University of Arkansas.
Ramirez is hailed as one of the top skills developers in the country.
Hobson brings her talents and knowledge as the former long-time lead assistant from Skyline High School having served under the highly accomplished and widely respected former Skyline Head Coach Cassandra McCurdy.
Riley brings an extensive list of accomplishments including reaching the state tournament twice and winning a state title as a player at Dallas Lincoln earning all-state recognition.
She attended Oklahoma State University and became second in the nation in scoring, averaging 26.7 points per game, to win the Nancy Lieberman Award as the top female point guard in the NCAA.
In her 131 career starts in Stillwater, Riley averaged 21.6 points in her career and totaled 2,835 points to finish as the school’s all-time leading scorer.
Riley was the eighth overall draft pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks and has since become a rising star in AAU coaching circles, winning a national title.
Russell, having been a part of last year’s team returns and serves as the bridge between the program’s past and future assisting the staff in their introduction to players, parents and the community while supporting program operations.
“I’m definitely very excited, we have a lot of unique skillsets on this staff and couple of our coaches has played at every level and have won a lot of awards that you can win as high school players, at the college ranks, and even at the pro level,” said Chatman.
“Our coaches' ability is to champion these kids and push them to be as great as they can be, and we want to champion each other, champion everyone in the program and the community,” Chatman added.