Claude Terry steps down as Patrick Henry boys basketball head coach
All of the Patriots ' other varsity head coaches will return for 2026-27
Estill – Patrick Henry Academy is looking for a new boys basketball head coach for the 2026-27 school year after Claude Terry decided to step down after four seasons at the helm.
Patriots athletic director Kelsey Swaim said the process of finding a replacement is ongoing.
Patrick Henry went 6-16 in its final season under Terry after starting the year with a 5-2 record. The Patriots missed out on the SCISA AAA state tournament.
Patrick Henry made the tournament in each of Terry’s first three years. He owned a 45-29 record over his tenure.
All of the other varsity head coaches are back. Joe Gray Peeples returns for his fourth season in charge of the football program, Anthony Creech is back as the girls basketball coach for the fourth year, Kristin Wemes returns for her second season as the volleyball head coach, and Brodie Gibson is back for his second year in charge of the baseball program.
The football team is coming off of a 2-9 season. Peeples led the Patriots to the Class A state title in his first season as head coach. It was also Patrick Henry’s first year in 11-man football after a couple of decades playing at the 8-man level. The Patriots are 17-18 over the last three years.
The girls basketball team went 11-11 under Creech and lost to Williamsburg Academy 57-53 in the first round of the AAA state tournament. The Patriots have gone 37-27 during Creech’s tenure.
Wemes led the volleyball team to a 21-6 record in her first season. The Patriots won the region title and went 2-2 in the state tournament.
The Patrick Henry baseball team went 9-11 in its first season under Gibson’s leadership. The Patriots were 9-9 durign the regular season and 0-2 in in their bracket in the AAA state playoffs.
Patrick Henry hasn’t had a softball team the past two years. If it does have one this year, Swaim is slated to be the head coach.
“I will not know that until it is time,” was Swaim’s response when asked if the school would have softball this year.
With SCISA’s biannual reclassification, things have changed a little bit for the Patrick Henry athletic teams. The football team will continue to play at the AA level, while all of the other sports will compete at the AA level this year after being AAA for the past two seasons.










