Doral, MCD, Carrollton coaches are Dade Girls’ Basketball Coaches of the Year
Miami Country Day continued its historic run and returned to a place among the top girls’ basketball teams in the nation.
Doral Academy finally experienced what it was like to win a state championship in the sport.
And Carrollton experienced a breakthrough for its program that it hopes is just the beginning.
Their coaches, Miami Country Day’s Ochiel Swaby, Doral Academy’s Daniela Barrios and Carrollton’s Danny Ramos are the Miami Herald’s Girls’ Basketball Coaches of the Year for Miami-Dade County.
Barrios earned the honor for Classes 7A-4A after leading the Firebirds to the Class 7A state title in her first season as head coach.
As a sixth-grader, Barrios joined Doral’s program as a student-athlete and watched the program grow from its infancy to one of the best in Miami-Dade County and the state.
After two years of advancing to the state semifinals, Barrios was promoted from assistant to head coach after Allison Bustamante was hired to coach Barry University’s women’s team.
Barrios led Doral to district and regional titles after a dominant run through the Region 4-7A playoffs. The Firebirds then won their first game ever at state by beating Port St. Lucie Centennial and followed that up with a victory over defending state champion Winter Haven in the final.
Swaby and Ramos share honors for Classes 3A-1A.
Swaby led Miami Country Day to one of their best seasons in recent memory and a top 15 national ranking after securing their fourth consecutive state championship, and 11th in a 14-year span.
The record-setting run stands one championship away from equaling the most in state history and two away from matching a prior streak of six consecutive state titles for Miami Country Day.
Ramos led Carrollton to its best season ever with a 22-3 record and its first regional championship. The Cyclones topped La Salle to advance to the state final four for the first time before losing to eventual Class 3A state champion Somerset Canyons.
Ramos will look to reload next season to lead Carrollton on another run he hopes will culminate with the school’s first state title.
