Belen, Columbus, Mater Lakes and Riviera’s coaches earn Dade honors after historic season
Miami-Dade County boys’ basketball had four state champions this season for the first time ever.
And the four coaches of those programs stood out for the way they steered those teams toward their historic accomplishments.
So, in a historic season, it wasn’t a difficult choice to name the Miami Herald’s Coaches of the Year.
For that reason, Miami Belen Jesuit’s Gaston “Chachi” Rodriguez, Miami Columbus’ Andrew Moran share honors in Classes 7A-5A while Hialeah Mater Lakes’ Dylan Estock and Miami Riviera Prep’s Anthony Shahbaz are the Class 4A-2A Co-Coaches of the Year.
The group featured three teams - Belen, Mater Lakes and Riviera Prep - that won state titles for the first time in their respective school’s history.
And in Columbus’ case, it was a repeat and a step higher for a program that was elevated to the status of one of the best in the nation.
Even among this elite quartet, Rodriguez’s accomplishment stood out as the veteran coach guided a Belen team that did not have a single player who stands taller than 6-4 or holds a major Division-I scholarship offer past the second round of the playoffs for the first time ever.
The Wolverines entered the season just hoping to win their first district championship in 17 seasons and far surpassed expectations.
Rodriguez, who also won state titles with Champagnat Catholic and Miami Coral Reef, became the first coach in state history to win championships at three schools.
Moran, who last year became the only other coach in Dade history to win state titles at two different schools having won one at Miami Christian, led Columbus to back-to-back titles for the first time ever.
Led by the talented duo of Cameron and Cayden Boozer, the Explorers became the first Dade school to repeat as a state champion in the state’s largest classification since Miami High in the late 1990s.
Columbus remained steady throughout a challenging schedule that included most of the teams ranked in the top 10 in the nation to help the Explorers spend most of the season ranked among that group themselves.
Shahbaz’s Riviera Prep squad overcame the pain of coming one point short of a state title by putting together a 27-6 season that ended with a historic defensive performance in the state final.
The Bulldogs held Windermere Prep to only 27 points - the lowest scoring output in a state final since 1950. Led by sophomore sensation Dante Allen, Riviera Prep could just be getting started after winning the school’s first state championship overall.
At Mater Lakes, Estock took over as head coach after one year as an assistant and the Bears didn’t miss a beat. After reaching the regional finals the previous season, the trio of Christian Reid, Anthony Knowles and Michael Bradley powered Mater Lakes to a dominant 28-3 season with two of those losses coming against fellow state champs Columbus and Weston Sagemont.
After a rough shooting outing in its state semifinal, the Bears overwhelmed The Villages Charter in a 77-41 victory.
This story was originally published April 5, 2023 at 7:35 AM.
