By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor
COLUMBIANA –
As the legendary girls basketball career of Ashley Phillips ends, the Shelby County Wildcats will turn to one of their own to continue their dominance in the sport.
Shelby County High School announced baseball coach Cory Hamrick as its new head girls basketball coach on Tuesday, June 17. Hamrick will serve as head coach for both baseball and girls basketball in his new expanded role with SCHS.
“It is an absolute honor,” Hamrick said. “It’s a blessing to be named head coach here because there’s a longstanding tradition of basketball in general, boys and girls, but over the last 10 years, this is my eighth year at Shelby County, and in those seven years, girls basketball at Shelby County has been something that I think the entire community has been proud of.”
Hamrick comes from a basketball background, having played three varsity seasons at Walker High School, now Jasper, and coached boys basketball at Randolph and girls basketball at Niceville. While it’s been a decade since he coached basketball at a school, he coached youth basketball since his arrival in Columbiana.
The move came together in a matter of days after new SCHS principal Dr. Ken Thornbrough sought to move quickly to replace Phillips, who is retiring from teaching.
“[Dr. Thornbrough’s] only been here like four days, but there’s been a ton of conversation and he sold me on the opportunity and we made sure from a scheduling standpoint there wasn’t going to be any damper on either sport, because that’s what’s really important here are the kids,” Hamrick said. “We’ve got to make sure that the kids all have the best opportunity that we can give them as coaches, teachers, administrators and staff members so really excited for that opportunity.”
On the court, Hamrick coaches a high-tempo style that emphasizes on-ball defense and creating opportunities for the offense.
With a talented returning core back, including All-State guard Kenna’d Buie as a rising eighth grader and All-County guard Morgan Arnold as a rising junior, Hamrick is optimistic that the returning core can adapt well to his system.
“I am a high-octane, 94-feet, baseline-to-baseline, up-and-down the floor type coach,” Hamrick said. “There’s very little zone. We’re pressing from the moment the ball is in the air and we aren’t letting off the throttle until we obviously need to let off the throttle based on score or let off the throttle when the fourth quarter ends. I think it’s a fun style of basketball to watch.”
Hamrick has served as the Wildcats baseball coach since 2019 and has since earned more than 150 wins as head coach. Since then, his teams won three area championships, made two Class 5A quarterfinals runs and earned a school-record 31 wins in 2022.
Most recently, Shelby County qualified for the playoffs in 2025 as the runner-up out of Class 5A, Area 8 before losing to Marbury.
Hamrick also won a share of the Shelby County Coach of the Year award for baseball in 2021.
He’ll continue to coach baseball alongside girls basketball, which he noted poses some challenges at the Class 5A level. However, he is confident that planning far in advance and leaning on his assistants will help him balance his time as he has successfully at other stops in his career.
“[What I] was really excited about was the partnership that administration has with athletics in general, but for me personally for girls basketball and boys baseball, and just the understanding and us collaborating to make sure there’s plenty of time in my day, there’s plenty of time in the girls’ day, there’s plenty of time in the guys’ day to where we can make this work,” Hamrick said.
Hamrick takes over for a program legend in Phillips, who led the Wildcats to the Final Four in 2020 after a pair of Sweet 16 runs in the years prior. He took Shelby County to the Sweet 16 one last time in 2025 after winning the program’s first area title since that 2020 season.
Phillips’ impact isn’t limited to the basketball court as he has led the softball team to four-straight area titles. He has also served as a member of the Columbiana City Council as the representative of Ward 5.
Hamrick knows he has big shoes to fill. However, he said he is up for the challenge of succeeding Phillips and continuing the girls basketball program’s dominance.
“No one wanted to follow Nick Saban,” Hamrick said. “Regardless of how great they are, no one wanted to follow those that are great. Well, I see that as a privilege. I see that as an honor.”
Hamrick respects Phillips and all he has done and hopes to pick up where he left off.
“What he has done for athletics here in general, especially on the girls side is nothing short of incredible,” Hamrick said. “He is a legacy here and hopefully we can pick up and continue down the same path and just pick up where he left off. And if we’re lucky enough to continue to grow this thing from where coach Phillips left it, then obviously we will be talking about greatness for years to come. But obviously, he has left a legacy and left big shoes to fill, and I’m very excited for the opportunity, and we’re very grateful to coach Phillips and for everything that he’s done.”
