Gregg Nibert new athletic director, boys basketball head coach for Laurens Academy
Former Presbyterian head coach takes over both posts from longtime coach Travis Plowden
Laurens – Gregg Nibert walked into retirement last year after stepping down as the boys basketball head coach at Spartanburg Day School in a career that saw him spend 28 years as the head coach at Presbyterian College.
Nibert just walked right back out of retirement. He is the new boys head coach and athletic director at Laurens Academy.
“It wasn’t all it was cracked up to be,” Nibert said of retirement. “You can only water the plants, take the little puppy on a walk so much. My wife said I needed to find something to do.
“I thought it was time, but you never know how something is until you do it. I’m a coach. I may not do many things that excite me, but coaching excites me.”
Nibert takes over both posts from Travis Plowden, who was the boys head coach for 16 years. He led the Crusaders to a SCISA state title in 2015 and guided last year’s team to the AA state semifinals.
Along with winning more than 400 games, Nibert led Spartanburg Day to the 2022 SCISA AA state championship.
While he knows coaching basketball, this will be Nibert’s first go at running an athletic department. Because of the staff already on hand, he believes things will go smoothly.
“They’ve been there so long and they do a great job with their programs,” he said. “I’ll do whatever I can do to help them. They’ve got a great staff of head coaches.”
Jolly Doolittle will be back as the football head coach. He has led the Crusaders to consecutive appearances in the 8-man state championship game.
Doolittle will be assisted on the varsity by Luke Tollison, Gerald Kirton, Josh Tackett and Nathan Bell. Thomas Lowry will be the middle school head coach.
Shannon McGee is back for her 11th season as the volleyball head coach. LA saw its run of consecutive state championships come to an end at three last season – barely. The Crusaders lost to The King’s Academy in five games in the AA state championship match to finish 27-6.
Jason Marlett is back for his 13th season as the girls basketball head coach. He led the Crusaders to a 24-3 record and a fifth straight appearance in the state tournament semifinals, finishing as runner-up twice. He led the Crusaders to consecutive state championships in 2018 and 2019.
Darryl Halbert will be coaching the baseball team for the 13th year as well. He led Laurens to a state championship in 2011.
He guided the Crusaders to a 13-8 record this past season and to the semifinal series in the state playoffs.
Frankie Dunaway is returning as the softball coach.
