We gave you the 50 greatest sports icons from NKY last summer. Since we had so much fun with that, we’re bringing you another list of the 50 greatest things this summer…The 50 greatest prep sports teams from NKY.Â
Each day for the next 50 days, we’ll release one of the area’s 50 greatest prep sports teams. It starts June 22 and runs into August. This is not a ranking 1-50, it’s just a collection of the 50 best sports teams ever assembled.
We’ll preface this by saying you may or may not agree with all 50 and that’s fine. Sports editor Evan Dennison assembled a panel of dedicated and longly-tenured NKY sports fans to weigh in and give their takes on who should be on the list. I trust those people because of their history and knowledge of the game in NKY. We compiled numerous lists and identified the most certain candidates for inclusion.Â
Some of the traits we sought in these teams were state championships (almost certainly a requirement), dominance, and standout players and coaches. We may have cheated a little by lumping some dominant teams together that achieved numerous consecutive state titles, but that gives a few more teams an opportunity to be recognized.Â
I hope you enjoy this, as sports are slow in the summer. This list serves as a way to remember the past a little and keep you entertained daily as it continues.
Another note, while we respect and give coverage to golf, tennis, wrestling, bowling, track and field and cross country, we consider those individual sports, so any teams from those sports will not make the list.
Here we go! Â
2009 Holmes boys basketball
Best basketball team ever out of Northern Kentucky? The 2009 Holmes Bulldogs certainly have their case.
For much of the late 2000s, Holmes was the standard in Northern Kentucky boys basketball. The 2009 Bulldogs represented the peak of that run, finishing 36-2, winning the 9th Region title and capturing the state championship under head coach David Henley.
Holmes dominated throughout the season, posting a 17-1 record against 9th Region competition and closing the year on a 13-game winning streak. The Bulldogs entered the postseason battle-tested and continued to prove themselves on Kentucky’s biggest stage. Their championship run culminated in a memorable 67-63 double-overtime victory over Central in the Sweet 16 title game, with Ricardo Johnson earning tournament MVP honors.
The title was the crowning achievement of an era led by Henley, who finished his career with 511 victories and ranks among a select group of Kentucky coaches with both 500 wins and a state championship. During a five-year stretch, Holmes won four 9th Region championships and reached three consecutive Sweet 16 Final Fours, a feat no Kentucky school has matched since. It took a future pro to stop them from being back-to-back champs, losing to Darius Miller and the Mason County Royals in the 2008 championship game.
The Bulldogs were loaded with talent. Johnson led the way during the championship run before continuing his career at Ohio University. Today, he serves as the boys basketball coach at Holy Cross. Elijah Pittman developed into a standout at Marshall, averaging 17.1 points per game over two collegiate seasons, while Brandon Housley spent a season at Cincinnati State before finishing his career at Thomas More. Jamel Riley rounded out a veteran core that made Holmes one of the state’s most complete teams.
More than a decade later, the 2009 Holmes Bulldogs remain one of the benchmark teams in Northern Kentucky boys basketball history.
Here’s the rundown of the 50 greatest NKY prep sports teams day by day:
Day 1: 1998 Highlands Football
Day 2: 1963 Holmes Baseball
Day 3: 2019 Covington Catholic football
Day 4: 2021 Notre Dame Academy Girls Soccer
Day 5: 1960 Highlands Football
Day 6: 1980 Villa Madonna Volleyball
Day 7: 1976 Lloyd Memorial Football
Day 8: 2009 Holmes Boys Basketball