After guiding Vashon to unparalleled success, coach Tony Irons has stepped away from the basketball program and will assume the head coaching duties at Mineral Area College.
"The opportunity to coach at Vashon took my level to the next level," Irons said in a statement on Thursday. "We had an incredible amount of success and I want to thank every one of the quality young men who came through our program, embraced what we were doing and worked tirelessly to be the best. I would not be blessed with this new opportunity without them."
St. Louis Public Schools superintendent Dr. Kesia Scarlett congratulated Irons on his success at Vashon.
"Coach Irons helped to highlight so many of the great attributes of our student-athletes here in Saint Louis Public Schools," Scarlett said in the statement. "We are incredibly excited to watch him climb to the elite levels of his profession."
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Mineral Area College announced the hire in a press release on Thursday afternoon.
"We are excited to have Coach Irons as the sixth head coach in Mineral Area College History," Mineral Area College athletics director Jim Gerwitz said in the press release. "Tony's experience developing high-level athletes in the Midwest will propel MAC basketball to the next level."
Irons helped coach Vashon to its fifth successive and 15th overall state championship this past season. Since taking over in 2015, he has coached the Wolverines to seven titles.
Vashon has won 15 state titles overall, the second most in Missouri history behind Scott County Central.
Irons captured his first state championship as a coach with Madison Prep in 2013.
His eight state championships are third most in state history behind Scott County Central's Ronnie Cookson (13) and New Madrid County Central's Lennies McFerren (10).
In nine years at Vashon, Irons collected 216 wins and had eight seasons of 20 or more wins, with the only year being the shortened 2020-21 season, when the Wolverines finished 16-1.
In the nine years before Irons took over at Vashon, the Wolverines won only 98 games and had one year of 20 wins. They also won only one district title.
Irons is takes over a program that finished last year with a 29-3 record and was the runner-up in Region 16.