It’s time again for the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association (MBCA) Hall of Fame Celebration Weekend in Springfield, Missouri on April 22-23, 2017. Once again, the MBCA is proud to present the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Academic All-State banquet, and Missouri Challenge showcasing the top seniors throughout Missouri, featured in one weekend.
MBCA Hall of Fame Inductees
The Missouri Basketball Coaches Association is proud to release their 2017 Hall of Fame class to be inducted at a ceremony on Saturday, April 22, 2017 at 12:00 PM.
Inductees include:
Craig Engelbrecht
Coach Engelbrecht is a 1979 graduate of Eugene High School. He graduated in 1983 from Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, Mo. Coach Engelbrecht taught Elementary P.E. and coached the girls basketball team and boys baseball team at Russellville High School from 1984-1987. In 1987, Coach Engelbrecht was hired by Eugene High School and he continues to teach and coach there today. In 30 years of coaching varsity basketball, Coach Engelbrecht has compiled a record of 516-294. Some of the highlights of his coaching career include a 1988 baseball final four appearance for Eugene, a 1992 basketball final four appearance for Eugene, and seven District Championships while at Eugene. Coach Engelbrecht has also been named 2006-2007 District Coach of the Year and 2013-2014 Missouri Basketball Coaches Association District 8 Coach of the Year. Coach Craig Engelbrecht has been married to Kelli, his high school sweetheart for 26 years, and they have two children, Christian and Katelyn.
Preston Thomas
Preston Rockne Thomas, a Gary, Indiana native was first introduce to sports by his grandfathers, James Leek (mother) and Al Thomas (father) at a young age. Growing up in the area known as Midtown and later moving to Tarrytown area, while further developing his passion for sports and competition. His elementary P.E. teacher Mr. Taylor introduced the concept of team first and the slogan “Great Players Have Great Feet”, by having all the students dance weekly. Preston earned All - State Honorable Mention in football as senior in 1969, when there was only one class.
He credits his understanding of basketball to former Western Michigan University Basketball Coach Eldon Miller after leaving football as a freshman. Coach Thomas began his high school coaching career at Cardinal Ritter in the 1982-83 seasons. While at Ritter he compiled a record of 307-162, (3) 2A State Basketball Championships, (7) District Championships, (14) AAA Conference Championships, (7) Missouri All – State, (4) USA Top Forty Basketball All-Americans, (1) Mc Donald All-American, (1) First Team NCAA All-American, (3) NBA Draftees, several European Professional Basketball Players, (2) 2A State Track Championships, (2) USA Track & Field All-Americans, (1) Junior Pan-Am Silver Medalist, (1) two time USA Olympic Qualifier.
Thomas was the Head Coach of the World Famous Harlem Globetrotters, competitive and show team, 1999-2001. Thomas went on to Coach St. Louis Community College at Forest Park from 2001-2011, compiling a record of 170-147. Winning a Regional 16 NJCAA Championship, first in schools history, having (14) 1St Team All-Conference Players, (2) NJCAA All-Americans.
Coach Thomas has work with former NBA Head Coaches Bernie Bickerstaff, Lionel Hollins and present New Orleans Pelican Head Coach Al Gentry.
Dan Rolfes
Coach Rolfes has spent the last 17 seasons as Head Coach at Incarnate Word Academy and during that time has amassed an amazing 456-64 record. He has an overall record of 497-75. At IWA they have reached the Final Four 12 times and won the State Championship seven times. Before IWA he had a record of 41-11 at Rosary. In 17 years, 41 of his players have continued playing at the collegiate level, 21 of them at the Division I level. In 2014, he was named the Max Preps National Coach of the Year and has been the Missouri Coach of the Year in his classification seven times. He has also been named the WBCA High School All-American Coach in 2010. His IWA teams have been nationally ranked in the top 25 10 times in his 17 years, including 2014 where they finished ranked #2 in the nation by USA Today, Max Preps, and ESPN. Coach Rolfes is married to his wife Lisa and they have a son, Jake (freshmen at Rockhurst University), a daughter, Grace (sophomore at IWA), and another daughter, Kate (freshmen at IWA and player on this year’s championship team).
Mike Elliott [Brent Elliott (on behalf of Mike Elliott) HOF Induction Speech]
Basketball has always been a big part of Mike Elliott's life. Born and raised in Northwest Missouri, he received all state honors and scored 1974 points in his high school basketball career at North Harrison High School. After high school, Mike went to play college basketball at William Jewell and Graceland University. In his 30 years of coaching Mike compiled an overall record of 475 wins and 351 losses. He started his head coaching career at Brookfield, Missouri. From there he went to Macon, Kirksville, Clinton, Maysville, Lakeland, and Odessa. Mike was well known for his ability to rebuild teams and create a successful program. Mike won numerous coach of the year awards, 5 conference championships, and 3 district championships. Mike was named to Coach the West All Stars 1A-2A MBCA game in 1984-1985. Mike also coached girls' softball and took teams at Macon, Missouri to the Final Four. Coach Elliott’s life ended too soon, he left an incredible mark on the players and coaches he worked with and his inspiration and passion for basketball will be long remembered. His wife, Linda, and children, Trenton and Kennedy, along with his brother, Brent Elliott, are honored by this tribute.
Craig Parrack
Coach Parrack is a graduate of Macks Creek High School and Central Missouri State University. He has coached at Wheatland (boys and girls), Climax Springs (boys and girls), and Macks Creek. His overall coaching record included 489 wins. He has won six conference titles, 13 tournament titles, six district titles, made two Final Four appearances, coached 13 All-State players and in 2000 was named Class 1’s Coach of the Year. He has been an Athletic Director and Principal. He has also been extremely involved and instrumental in growing the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association and exhibiting their mission of promoting the game of basketball. He served on the MBCA Board of Directors for ten years. He is married to the wonderful Shelly and they have two children, Andy (wife Chelsy) and Kami (husband Russell George), a granddaughter Emma, two grandsons, Aiden and Sawyer and a great granddaughter, Kelsie.
Ryan Shaw [Lori Shaw (on behalf of Ryan Shaw) HOF Induction Speech]
Coach Shaw was an All-State post player for Clopton High School. He team was runner-up in the state losing the championship game to Scott County Central by only 10 points. At Central College in Iowa, Coach Shaw had a career ending knee injury and decided to move to the coaching role with the Flying Dutchmen until he graduated in 1994. He coached at Bowling Green as an assistant before moving to a head coaching position for the Wright City Wildcats. He then coached at Warrenton High School where his team won multiple district championships. He then moved to Springfield where he spent time coaching at Hillcrest High School and assisting at Parkview High School. He then moved to Potosi High School before finally landing at Fulton High School the last few years of his career. Promoting basketball was a passion for Coach Shaw, his first elementary camp had five athletes show up, and four years later his elementary camp had over 100 athletes. Coach Shaw was involved in the MBCA for nearly two decades serving as Vice President, President, and Past President. He encouraged many of the board members to get involved and expanded participation during his tenure. He was also a huge contributor to expanding our clinic in the fall and instigating and developing the Missouri Challenge Event. Coach Shaw, unfortunately, passed away at too early of an age. He has left behind a legacy of passion for basketball. His players and coaches that worked with him will always be inspired by his energy for basketball and life. His wife, Lori, daughter, Kenzie, and son Jordan are honored by this tribute.
Mike McClure (media)
A radio and television play-by-play announcer in southwest Missouri since 1985, Mike McClure has broadcast over 3,300 games. He is the President of McClure Broadcasting, LLC. He has broadcast 16 MSHSAA Championship events. In addition to being the radio voice of the Missouri Southern State University Lions football and basketball games, McClure also works games for Mediacom in Springfield, the NAIA Men's Division II National Basketball Tournament, Sirius Satellite Radio, Fox Sports Midwest.com and most recently Missouri Valley Conference sporting events on ESPN3.
Donnie Middleton (media)
Donnie Middleton was a 1965 graduate of Downing High School and later graduated from the Career Academy School of Broadcasting in 1968. He represented our country in the United States Army from 1968-1970, serving in Vietnam. He is the co-owner of Memphis Lumber Company. In 1986, he began his career at KMEM Radio in Memphis, later becoming the Sports Director. He has been in front of the microphone ever since broadcasting approximately 2400 high school basketball games, 330 football games as well as girls softball and boys baseball. He is also the past District Governor of Lions International and served as Chairman of the Missouri Lions All-Star Football Committee for several years. He is the former mayor of Downing, Missouri while also holding several other leadership positions in the city and region. He and is significant other, Jo Ann, live in Memphis. He has a son, Andrew Middleton, a stepdaughter, Shanna Forck, six grandchildren, and one great granddaughter. He is grateful for over thirty years of broadcasting and the many relationships he has formed with players, coaches, officials, and fans.