Gainesville, Fla. — Colt McDowell has been named Florida's Class 3A Coach of the Year, sponsored by the Florida Dairy Farmers, as voted upon by a statewide panel of media and coaches on March 24.
He received 108 voting points to finish ahead of Calvary Christian's Cilk McSweeney (94) and Andrew Jackson's Byron Shemwell (52), respectively.
McDowell, who completed his 10th season at The Villages High School, led the Buffalo boys basketball team to a 26-6 overall record this past season. VHS also captured a seventh straight district title and earned the program's third consecutive regional championship en route to a state runner-up finish.
In his 10 seasons at The Villages, McDowell has:
- Compiled a 206-79 record (.723 winning percentage)
- Made nine FHSAA state postseason appearances
- Won eight district titles
- Won five regional championships
- Made five FHSAA Final Four appearances
- Coached in two FHSAA state championship games
Buffalo senior point guard
Adyn Corbin also finished as runner-up for the Class 3A Player of the Year, trailing only University of Cincinnati signee Shon Abaev (Calvary Christian). Corbin, a Daytona State College signee, led VHS with 17.2 points and 3.8 assists per game in 2024-25.
Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment at cody.hills@tvcs.org.
