Former NMJC WBB Head Coach Drew Sanders Inducted Into NJCAA Hall of Fame

Drew Sanders is no stranger to Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. The former New Mexico Junior College (NMJC) and Eastern Oklahoma State (EOC) women's basketball head coach has already been inducted into the Western Junior College Athletic Conference Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Girls Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Now it's Coach Sanders' turn to enter the NJCAA Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Sanders and the rest of the 2023 Hall of Fame class will be recognized in a ceremony in Atlanta at the NJCAA All-Star Game July 20-23.

"The recognition of my hard work from my peers is very significant," Sanders said. "Being inducted into the NJCAA Women's Basketball Hall of Fame is a direct reflection of all the players I had over the years. Sometimes the coaches get too much recognition, and the players, assistant coaches, and administration don't get enough." 

Sanders started his coaching career in the high school basketball ranks. Coach Sanders spent 21 years at the high school level finishing with a record of 340-169 (66.8%) as a women's basketball head coach. The Fletcher, Okla. native reached the state tournament seven times, was the runner-up once, and won a state championship as a head coach and as an assistant.

Sanders then took on a whole new challenge when he made the transition to coaching junior college.

"Coming to junior college was not a career choice I made, it was a career choice that was made for my children," Sanders said. "I had coached in high school for several years and the athletic director at Eastern Oklahoma had approached me several times to take over the job. I had three girls in school and at EOS the faculty there got their families tuition, books, and fees for free, so I pursued the opportunity for my girls." 

Sanders, with the encouragement of his family, took the job at Eastern Oklahoma State College. There he coached seven seasons winning the region, receiving a national tournament berth, and making it to the NJCAA Semifinal. During his run with the Mountaineers, he compiled a 145-70 (67.44 %) record and won two conference championships.

After a brief return to high school, Coach Sanders took a leap of faith when he accepted the women's basketball head job at NMJC in 2007. The task at hand in New Mexico was not for the faint of heart. The T-Birds were coming off a year where they finished last in their conference. 

"The first thing we had to do to be successful was establish a culture," Sanders said. "You have to get the willingness to work and of course the coaching staff has to have the ability to go get players."

Prior to his arrival, the T-Birds had not won a conference title, region tournament, or made the national tournament. That quickly changed under Sanders' watch. Five years into his tenure the T-Birds met those lofty goals. During the 2011-12 season, NMJC won the conference, the region, and made it to their first-ever NJCAA national tournament. 

The 2012 season was the beginning of the T-Bird dynasty. The Thunderbirds would go on a tear through the WJCAC winning five consecutive conference titles from 2012-16 and three consecutive Region V Championships from 2014-16. 

Sanders' 13-year reign at NMJC produced seven national tournament berths, seven WJCAC titles, four Region V titles, three at-large bids to the national tournament, two Final Four's, and one national runner-up. 

Sanders compiled an astounding win total of 279-106 (72.47%) as a Thunderbird. The three-time Hall of Famer owns a 10-7 record at the national tournament with NMJC and has the most wins in T-Bird women's basketball school history. 

The relationships Sanders made with his student-athletes is what compelled him to continue coaching throughout the latter part of his career.

"For me it was all about the relationships with the players and in junior college I was able to develop relationships with kids from all over the world," Sanders said. "It was neat to have my athletes who came from different backgrounds and cultures. The reason I stayed in the game so long was because I liked coaching the kids."

Sanders decided it was finally time to put down the clipboard in March of 2020 after the season was cut short due to Covid-19. Following his departure, Coach Sanders was involved with the search that settled on his successor Austin Mefford, who in two seasons has guided the T-Birds to two national tournament appearances.

"Coach Sanders has left behind an incredible legacy. How many coaches have won state championships in high school, built up Eastern Oklahoma State into region champions, and then taken NMJC from last in the conference to region champs in a few years," Mefford said. "Coach Sanders legacy continues off the court, where he is well liked in the community and on campus, along with many of his players having moved on to successful careers after basketball. He is the main reason NMJC women's basketball is where it is today."

NMJC Director of Athletics Deron Clark echoes the same sentiment Mefford said of the former NMJC head coach.

"Drew Sanders' arrival to NMJC began the stair stepping process to a perennial power in NJCAA women's basketball," Deron Clark said. "The elevation of expectation for our program began with Coach Sanders' vision and demanding precision from the ladies that competed for NMJC."

The one accolade that has eluded Coach Sanders in his storied NJCAA career was the national champion trophy, which he came so close to in 2019 when the T-Birds finished runner-up to Gulf Coast State in his final appearance at the national tournament. The loss still has a lasting impact on Sanders, but he said being unable to win the big one does not define his impact as a coach.

"I would have liked to have won a national championship, but I did not feel like not winning one defined me as a coach that wasn't successful," Sanders said. "The biggest success as a coach is helping kids be successful in life. A national championship lasts one year, turning somebody into a person that becomes successful in life lasts a lifetime."