New RBHS volleyball coach Wiygul: Lady Tigers ‘bought in’ as 2025 campaign looms

The Red Bay High School varsity volleyball team is preparing for the upcoming season with a new head coach at the helm.

Trae Wiygul, formerly the superintendent of the Itawamba County Schools system, was hired as assistant principal and head volleyball coach in June. Though Wiygul has experience coaching other sports in his 30-year career, this is his first foray into volleyball.

“I look forward to the challenge,” Wiygul told the Franklin Free Press.

That challenge is quickly approaching with the 2025 season less than two weeks away.

Since taking over in June, Wiygul said he has been working on building trust and communication with the players.

“Relationships are a key to success, both on the court and off,” he said. “I believe we have built a good working relationship over the past two months.”

RBHS has been honing their skills on the court, as well, Wiygul said, and he’s happy with the effort he’s seen from his players in preseason preparation so far.

“The kids have worked hard, listened, and bought in to what we are teaching them,” he said.

While the first-year volleyball coach admits it’s tough to identify just one or two players that will be especially crucial on the court—“I am relying on all of our players to perform well; we have a solid group, and it is hard to single out one specific player,” he said—Wiygul did declare the importance of this year’s three seniors, whom he will rely on for their leadership abilities.

“Anna Kate Burks, Kyla Blackburn, and Haidyn Emerson—they are the leaders of our team,” Wiygul said. “Senior leadership is vital for the success of any team.”

A relatively new program, Red Bay has made just one playoff appearance—that was back in 2021. This year, the Lady Tigers have set their sights on getting back to the postseason with Wiygul noting the team’s three goals of a winning season, an area championship, and advancing in the playoffs.

Time—and results—will tell if Red Bay can hit those marks, but there does seem to be excitement swirling around this new campaign. The Lady Tigers are hosting a “Meet the Tigers” night on August 14, and the team’s Facebook account has been active in sharing positive updates. 

“We’re thrilled to kick off another exciting season of Lady Tiger Volleyball! These girls have been putting in the work, and we can’t wait to see what they accomplish this year,” one Facebook post sharing the season schedule said. “Week 1 of official practice = SUCCESS!”—the words bracketed by fire emojis—started another post on August 8.

Wiygul concurred while thanking his assistant coaching staff for the work they’ve done in prepping the players.

“I am extremely grateful for Coach Jade Hallmark and Coach Ashley Blackburn. They are very knowledgeable coaches that have gone above and beyond for our kids and our program,” he said. “We look forward to a great season.”

Red Bay will begin its campaign on Thursday, August 21. The Lady Tigers will host Tharptown at 5 p.m. and Itawamba Agricultural High School at 7 p.m.