Anthony Jones named Montverde Academy girls basketball head coach

High school girls basketball national power Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) named Anthony Jones its new head coach Friday. He is replacing Matt Shewmake, who left earlier this year to take an assistant coaching position at Grand Canyon University.

Jones has coached at Dr. Phillips (Orlando, Fla.) since 2001, winning six state championships (2011, 2012, 2013, 2022, 2023 and 2024) and Chipotle Nationals titles in 2011 and 2013. The Panthers were the Class 7A runner-up this season.

At Montverde, Jones will inherit a program coming off a 26-2 season led by MaxPreps National Junior of the Year Saniyah Hall. "The opportunity presented itself and the timing was right," Jones said in a statement posted on the school's official athletic site. "I am excited to keep the Eagle tradition going."

Montverde Academ went 76-7 in Shewmake's three-year tenure, earning a MaxPreps National Championship in 2022-23, his first season.

The Eagles were senior-heavy last season, losing Aaliyah Crump, Agot Makeer, Lourdes Da Silva Costa, Holland Harris and Amaia Jackson to graduation. Senior Missy Odom and juniors Daria Kiluk and Jayla Forbes join Hall on the list of players expected to return.

Jones joins Steve Turner as new faces on the Montverde Academy campus after the longtime Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) coach was tapped to replace Kevin Boyle, who left for SPIRE Academy (Geneva, Ohio) after 12 seasons and seven national championships.