GREENWOOD – Clay Reeves is going out on top.
After 36 years of dedicated service on the hardwood, the Eudora native and Greenwood Girls Basketball Coach announced his retirement on Thursday due to recent health concerns.
“I have had some stuff with my health and it has just made me think about it a whole lot more,” Reeves said during a phone call with Natural State Sports on Thursday evening. “I love coaching and I am really going to miss it, but I just felt like at this time I need to stop coaching to take better care of myself and get out of it for right now.”
Reeves led the Lady Bulldogs to their third consecutive 5A state championship back in March, which was his eighth with Greenwood and 11th of his career. The Lady Bulldogs also won titles under Reeves in 2010, 2012, 2014-15, 2020 (shared with Nettleton) along with 2022-24, which was the first time Reeves clinched a three-peat in his career. Reeves claimed his first three rings with Greenland in 1999, 2000 and 2002. Additionally, four of Reeves’ squads – three at Greenland and one at Greenwood – had runner-up finishes.
This past season, Reeves notched his 800th career victory in January’s rout of Siloam Springs. He won over 400 games while leading Greenwood for 21 seasons and finished 815-408 overall.
“It has just been a special career,” Reeves said. “It starts with my own family support, plus we have had great community and administration support. I have also had great assistants and parent support, but the people who deserve all of the credit is the players over 36 years. I have had great kids my whole career and have been blessed.”
Reeves got his start in coaching under Hall of Famer Alvy Early as a team manager at Arkansas – Monticello. That position preceded stints at Montrose Academy, a tiny school in the state’s southeast corner that no longer exists, and Bay before accepting the position at Greenland.
(Cover photo courtesy of Greenwood High School)
