On April 10, Pike Liberal Arts School announced the promotion of new head boys’ basketball coach Dacoda McConnell and girls’ basketball coach Becky Whetstone. Both are being promoted after serving as assistant coaches at PLAS. 

McConnell has been an assistant football, baseball and varsity basketball coach since joining the Pike staff three years ago. McConnell also served as the head junior varsity boys’ basketball coach last season and he’s the offensive coordinator for the football team. 

“It’s an honor and a blessing,” McConnell said of being named head coach. “It’s really cool being able to graduate from here and being able to lead a great group of kids like this. It makes it easier when you have a group of kids that would run through a brick wall for you like they will”

McConnell is an Ozark native that transferred to Pike Liberal Arts School for his senior season, lettering in football, basketball and baseball at PLAS. He went on to play college football at Troy University. After graduating from Troy, McConnell started his coaching career as an assistant football and baseball coach at Goshen High School before serving as an assistant football coach at Bullock County High School before returning to Pike Lib.

McConnell said his primary focus for the basketball program is to build on what was built by former head coach Jonny Mitchell.

“The goal is to win a playoff game next,” McConnell flatly said. “Jonny set a good precedent here. He wanted us to get to the playoffs and we accomplished that and now the next step is to win a playoff game. Our guys will run through a wall for us and I feel like they can get that done and more. We’re going to set the bar high but the goal is to win a playoff game and then go from there.” 

Troy University alum Becky Whetstone was also named the new PLAS head girls basketball coach. Whetstone, a native of Canada, served as assistant varsity girls basketball coach and head junior varsity coach during the 2024-2025 season. 

Whetstone also currently serves as a lecturer in Troy University’s Kinesiology and Health Promotions Department and was the Assistant Director of Athletics for Academics for Troy Athletics for nine years, primarily working with Troy Football and Basketball. 

Whetstone played college basketball at Brock University in Canada and earned the school’s Joy Bellinger Award of Merit in 2008, only the third women’s basketball player to earn the honor. During her basketball career, Whetstone also interned with the NBA’s Toronto Raptors.

“The Raptors practiced in our gym the summer of my senior year and I networked my way into an internship,” Whetstone said. “It was a really great time.”

Whetstone’s first coaching job was an assistant coach at Pike Lib in 2010 and she’s served as an assistant coach with Pike Lib off and on since then, including last season. 

“My parents told me that I’ve wanted to be a coach my whole life but I didn’t know that,” Whetstone said with a laugh. “My brother is a lacrosse coach at Denver University and we talked a lot about coaching and his experience in coaching. When my son started going to Pike, I really wanted to get involved and help the athletic department grow so that when he got to that age of playing varsity sports it would be in a good spot. I just wanted to help make the athletic department better anyway I could.”

Whetstone said her experience with the girls team this past year is what made her want to pursue the head coaching job when it came open.

“They are so wonderful,” she said of her players. “I had such a great time working with them on the junior varsity team and also coaching the varsity with Coach Mitchell. We had so much fun and they are such a great group of girls. I’m so excited to be able to keep working with them. They have such a love for basketball, which I think is untapped in our area with girls. Softball is such a prominent sport here, I would love to continue to help grow the game of basketball here.”

Like McConnell, Whetstone wants to help build on the foundation of the program that was built under Mitchell.

“Coach Mitchell established growth when we moved to the AHSAA and he did such a great job of establishing some development and I really want to keep that going,” she emphasized. “My biggest passion is ensuring these girls walk away from this high school experience loving the game of basketball and also having basketball – or sport – as a healthy outlet. I think that is really, really important and I want to help provide that for them.” 

PLAS Athletic Director William Moguel said that promoting from within will only benefit the stability of the basketball programs.

“Both of them are familiar with the programs,” Moguel continued. “Coach McConnell has been here for the last three years and the kids have a great deal of respect for him and we felt like it was the best thing to move forward with the program. Becky came here last year and the kids also respect her and it’s a good fit to continue what we already have going and what Coach (Jonny) Mitchell built here.” 

Pike also named Roddrice Griffin as the new head junior varsity and junior high boys basketball coach. Griffin will also serve as an assistant boys basketball coach. Griffin is a Brundidge native and was a football and basketball player at Pike County High School. Griffin went on to play college basketball at Concordia College.
Griffin earned All-State honors in basketball as a junior and senior at Pike County High and was named an All-American twice at Concordia before going on to play professional basketball with the Next Level Basketball Association. 

Griffin previously worked with at-risk kids as the Assistant Program Director for Charles Britt Academy in Saint Petersburg, Fla. He also previously served as head basketball coach at Tarpon Middle School and Rehobeth Middle School.