Independence, KY school turns tragic passing of coach after cancer battle into state title

Community Christian Academy (CCA) of Independence, KY dealt with unthinkable tragedy in 2023, losing boys basketball head coach Ryan Smith at the young age of 38 following a hard-fought battle with cancer. He led the program for over a decade with three state championship wins in 2012, 2014 and 2017 before being diagnosed with a rare form of the disease known as Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma (UPS) in August of ’23.

Smith stepped away from coaching to focus on his fight and began his first cycle of chemo in September. By December, he had passed, leaving behind a beautiful family that included his wife of five years, Noelle, and two children, Calum and Chloe.

“We were all just stunned and devastated,” said Adam Jump, Smith’s assistant coach at the time. “We lost our leader, mentor and friend midseason. The school lost an icon and cornerstone of the community.”

Jump played for Smith in high school before getting his start in coaching in 2022-23. Just a year later, he was thrust into an unexpected interim head coaching role in the middle of the season, the Crusaders going on to finish with a 22-7 record while earning a spot in the state semifinals.

Rather than quitting at the team’s lowest point, CCA responded against all odds to make a postseason run in Smith’s honor.

“We leaned on each other, we leaned on God and our faith, and we knew Coach would have wanted us to keep playing,” Jump said. “We knew coming together as brothers in our darkest moment is exactly what he taught us to do. That’s what that group did in order to finish the season and make the run they made.”

The immediate inspiration would lead to adversity the following offseason with the program losing 14 players. Not having enough kids to field a team at the start of the school year, there was real concern the 2024-25 season was in jeopardy. Thanks to some late transfers and trust in the process with those remaining, they were able to rally in the form of a banner-hanging campaign with the late Coach Smith on their hearts.

For the first time since 2017, Community Christian Academy claimed the KCAA State Championship, defeating Galilean in the title game by a final score of 72-59.

It wrapped up a 24-4 season that saw just seven players in the game-by-game rotation, senior Chayse Lambert earning State Tournament MVP honors while freshman Maximus Hays and junior Trey Casper were also named to the All-Tournament Team.

“We truly believe that this victory was a tribute to Coach Smith,” Jump said. “His leadership, heart, and passion for the game will always be a part of this program. This championship is for him, and we know he would be incredibly proud of these players and coaches.”

Casper led the team with 17.9 points per game on the year, followed by Lambert with 13.9, Hayes with 13.0, Kyle Berkemeier with 11.4, Cooper Lambert with 7.1, Rhyder Lovins with 6.8 and Aiden Odom with 4.9.

“We came together as a family. This season was about more than basketball; it was about honoring Coach Smith’s legacy and showing what we can do when we put our trust in God,” Chayse Lambert said.

One year after the program was met with tragedy, the Crusaders responded with a state championship in Coach Smith’s honor.

It doesn’t get any better than that, folks.